CSBA’s flagship state legislative advocacy event, Legislative Action Week, has come to a close for 2026, and more than 300 school district and county office of education board members brought their collective voice to the State Legislature from March 17-19. Bringing their lived experience to nearly 120 meetings with assemblymembers and senators, their collective advocacy helped increase attention to pressing issues facing schools and students.

Carpinteria Unified School District board member Jaime Diamond reflected on his experience. “CSBA’s Legislative Action Week provides unparalleled access to legislators, an opportunity that many school board members would not otherwise have,” he said. “It empowers the voices of elected school district officials, ensuring they are heard and seen in a purposeful way. The organization and coaching provided by CSBA staff is invaluable, especially for school board members who have never had an opportunity like this before.”

In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to once again manipulate Proposition 98 funding to withhold $5.6 billion — amounting to over $900 in funding per pupil in current year education funding — board members pushed hard for their legislators to protect and defend Prop 98. The state cannot manipulate the funding guarantee at its whim, it must follow the State Constitution and the funding calculation. Concerns were raised about the worrisome trend of undermining Prop 98, which provides the minimum amount of funding for public education.

In addition to defending Prop 98, members also advocated for fully funding the estimated 2.41 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and ensure that the proposed second iteration of the Student Support and Professional Development (SSPD) Discretionary Block Grant is fully discretional. From a growing costs perspective, trustees shared their stories about how fully funding the COLA is critical to ensure that local educational agencies receive the funding needed to meet the growing costs of serving students. Regarding the SSPD, members pushed for the distribution of one-time funding on a per-pupil basis.

CSBA members also continued to raise concerns about the temporary revival of the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault and molestation offenses and the permanent policy changes made under Assembly Bill 218 (2019). Presenting existential threats to the financial solvency of LEAs and their ability to meet and provide for the needs of students, members advocated for the Legislature to take action and institute settlement caps that ensure victims receive justice but also preserve the financial stability of LEAs struggling under the financial impacts of AB 218.

Included in Legislative Action Week advocacy were three overall statewide legislative priorities. First and foremost is CSBA’s SOS for Student Achievement four-bill legislative package. This legislative package proposes that the state, similar to local school district and county office of education boards, must adopt clear goals, measurable benchmarks and transparent and understandable reporting to the public on the state’s progress toward a more aligned state system that improves outcomes for California students. Read more about the bill package on page 4.

Last, but not least, were two issues CSBA has been advocating for over the past several years. First is a continuation of CSBA’s efforts to reduce LEA administrative workloads associated with state and federal reporting requirements. CSBA’s co-sponsored bill with the California Association of School Business Officials, the Association of California School Administrators and the Small School Districts Association, AB 2008 (Patel, D- San Diego) would automatically require any statutorily required report of an LEA to expire within four years of its establishment. This would help limit reporting requirements to four years unless otherwise required — compelling the consideration of whether a longer timeline is warranted.

The other measure is AB 2490 (Valencia, D-Anaheim), a re-introduction of AB 1224 from last year, which would increase the amount of time a substitute teacher may serve in a classroom from 30 days to 60 days. To respond to the Governor’s veto of AB 1224, AB 2490 is adjusted to ensure that substitute teachers receive adequate training and support and may only be used when the LEA is unable to find and hire a credentialed teacher to teach in that classroom.

As the legislative session continues and budget negotiations between the Legislature and Governor move forward, the local perspective and advocacy school board members brought to the Capitol during Legislative Action Week will be pivotal in informing the votes of senators and assemblymembers.