This Weekly Update provides members with the latest news from the association as well as important education-related developments.
CSBA was recently the subject of a malicious cyberattack resulting in outages to some internal systems, including the primary CSBA website, training registration and email marketing systems. We are working expeditiously to remedy the situation. Re-establishing access for the benefit of CSBA members is our highest priority, and all possible resources are being directed toward this purpose. In the meantime, thank you for your patience.
Legislative update: Governor signs all four CSBA-sponsored bills sent to his desk
On Sept. 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the final two CSBA-sponsored bills awaiting action on his desk, approving legislation that will give schools greater flexibility to maintain classroom continuity during teacher shortages and reduce duplicative administrative reporting requirements. The bills include:
- Assembly Bill 2490 (Valencia, D-Anaheim): Allows qualifying holders of an emergency career substitute teaching permit to remain in a single classroom for up to 70 cumulative days under specified circumstances.
- AB 2496 (Solache, Jr., D-Lynwood): Requires the California Department of Education, by Aug. 31, 2027, to report to the Legislature on duplication between information contained in the School Accountability Report Card and data already publicly available through sources such as the California School Dashboard, DataQuest and other state systems.
- AB 2225 (Patel, D-San Diego): Requires California’s newly established education commissioner to report on the state’s progress in aligning its public education governance system with the goal of improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps.
- AB 2008 (Patel): Establishes a four-year sunset for specified new reporting mandates unless the Legislature determines they should continue and directs the state to develop a standardized template that local educational agencies may use for programmatic and expenditure reporting associated with state grants.
“Taken together, these four new laws reflect what school board members and administrators have consistently told us they need from Sacramento: practical solutions, greater flexibility, a reduction in unnecessary paperwork and a state government that is better organized to support the work taking place in local schools,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “We appreciate the bill authors and our education partners for working with us to advance policies that respond to the real-world challenges facing school districts and county offices of education.” Learn more »
Read a full breakdown of many significant public education-related bills acted upon by the Governor this session in this blog post »
Share your district’s superintendent evaluation tool with CSBA
CSBA’s Research and Educational Policy Development Department is working on updated guidance for superintendent evaluations and needs your help! The team is collecting superintendent evaluation templates from districts statewide — if your board has an evaluation tool or process it’s willing to share, board presidents and superintendents are invited to submit it via email as an attachment to research@csba.org by Oct. 16.
Registration temporarily postponed for upcoming conferences and events
For members who were expecting to sign up for an upcoming CSBA conference or event (not including the Annual Education Conference), registration has been temporarily postponed. CSBA will send a follow-up communication with information when the registration process has resumed or with revised launch dates for new offerings. Members who are registered for upcoming trainings and need information such as Zoom access or material links are encouraged to reach out to the Trainings team at trainings@csba.org.
For those wishing to register for CSBA’s 2026 Annual Education Conference and Trade Show (AEC), members with an existing CSBA member ID can do so at aec.csba.org. New members without an existing ID cannot register at this time. Contact aec@csba.org to find out more about registering for AEC.
Register for the electronic nominations training for CSBA Delegate Assembly Election
The Delegate Assembly is a vital part of CSBA’s governance structure. This elected body not only sets general policy direction, it ensures that the association reflects the interests of local educational agencies throughout California. Nominations for Delegate Assembly this year will be moved into CSBA’s new electronic voting platform, Simply Voting, and members interested in submitting Delegate nominations on behalf of their LEA can now register for a training webinar, happening from 11-11:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, to try this new feature before the process opens on Oct. 30. CSBA is able to conduct this webinar as it will be hosted externally via Zoom. Learn more and register »
First round officer candidates; Nominations open for second round of officer elections
The Candidate Review Committee interviewed first round candidates, Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, Washington Unified School District, for the Office of President-elect, and William Farris, Sierra Sands USD for the Office of Vice President, in person on Aug. 29. The committee also interviewed first round candidate Roger Snyder, Scotts Valley USD virtually via Zoom on Aug. 28, for the Office of Vice President. After interviews and deliberations, the Candidate Review Committee recommends all candidates.
Additionally, nominations are now open for the second round of officer elections. Standing Rule 222. C (7) provides for another round of nominations for the office of President-elect and Vice President. All nomination forms and Declaration of Candidacy Packets for the second round must be received by Oct. 20. Contact Anita Ceballos at aceballos@csba.org to request the forms for the second round.
Federal update: Swatting guidance for schools
On Sept. 25, the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice published guidance and resources for local educational agencies on how to prepare for and respond to swatting incidents in light of the trend and increasing instances in academic settings that have caused trauma and disruption to students, teachers, staff and families.
The guidance defines swatting as “a form of harassment designed to deceive an emergency service provider into sending a police or emergency service response team to another person’s or organization’s address or location based on the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency.” Those emergencies can include active shooter situations, bomb threats or hostage situations. Access the guidance for educational institutions »
In other federal news:
- On Sept. 28, the Education Department announced that it had formally rescinded the Biden administration’s Title IX rule, which included protections regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and restored regulations circa 2020. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. CSBA’s sample policy service known as GAMUT has published a set of sample board policies and administrative regulations that cover Title IX.
- The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department published regulations on implementing the new federal scholarship tax credit, set to launch Jan. 1 in participating states. The regulations include a temporary set that will expire in October 2029 and a notice of proposed rulemaking and public hearing.
