The subject of supporting hard-to-reach students has weighed on my mind since I read The Effect of School Discipline on Offending across Time, a study led by Bowling Green University sociology professor Thomas Mowen. Mowen and his co-authors found that out-of-school suspensions increase the likelihood that the suspended students would commit another infraction or crime and that the subsequent offense would be more severe. In effect, rather than serving as a deterrent, suspensions were increasing the prospect of bad behavior and propelling students toward more serious transgressions. The study concluded that, “Despite some limitations, findings from this study demonstrate that school discipline can serve as an important turning point during adolescence … and can present a cumulative effect that substantially amplifies deviance as youth move through adolescence and into emerging adulthood.”

Guidance and support needed for charter school authorizers, panel says

Representatives from school districts, county offices of education and education organizations gathered in Sacramento on June 26 for a California Department of Education panel discussion, Best Practices for Charter School Authorization and Renewal.

The panel, which included CSBA Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado, convened at a key moment for California’s charter schools amid the recent release of reform recommendations from a state-appointed task force and as several bills regarding enrollment policies, petition appeals and charter locations make their way through the Legislature.

Just one in three of California’s 1,000 districts has a charter school within its boundaries, and of those, 90 percent have fewer than five. Only the largest authorizers have staff dedicated to the oversight of charter schools. The panelists agreed that with so much variation in district size and capacity, the most important needs for authorizers are guidance, training and support.

With the current lack of standards available at a statewide level, several panelists recommended focusing on developing internal processes for reviewing charter school petitions and for future oversight. “Be prepared,” said Machado. “It’s best to have policies and practices in place before you get your first petition.” He emphasized the importance of setting expectations early — both so the petitioner knows what to expect and the governing board and staff are clear on the process and the timelines. CSBA’s own Charter School Taskforce issued a report last fall, Uncharted Waters, with both practice and legislative recommendations that can be a valuable resource for charter school authorizers.

Faced with stark data showing 61 percent of California’s high schools don’t offer any computer science courses, district and county office administrators attended a summer workshop aimed at helping them equitably implement the classes.

California school facilities needs make case for proposed bond measure

Does California need another school bond measure? Will voters support it? Can improvements be made to help lower-income districts access bond funds?

These were some of the questions tackled in a June 17 EdSource webinar, Building for the future: Funding school renovation & construction, in which a panel of school facilities experts discussed a proposed school bond measure making its way through the Legislature.

Assembly Bill 48 (O’Donnell-D, Long Beach), the Kindergarten-Community Colleges Public Education Facilities Bond Acts of 2020 and 2022, would place a $13 billion school facilities bond on the March 2020 ballot and an additional bond of as-yet-undefined value on the November 2022 ballot. Panelists included CSBA Legislative Advocate Eric Bakke; Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes Legislative Advocate and Elk Grove Unified School District board member Nancy Chaires Espinoza; researcher and co-author of a Getting Down to Facts II study on financing school facilities Jeff Vincent; and San Bernardino Unified board member Barbara Flores.

Future versions of the California School Dashboard will include a combined four- and five-year graduation rate, which officials say provides schools with an opportunity to demonstrate their success with students who may need additional time to earn a high school diploma.

The State Board of Education unanimously approved the new measure at its July 10 meeting, although with some concerns about certain schools potentially no longer being eligible for comprehensive support.

The combined four- and five-year rate — which will not replace the traditional four-year rate for federal reporting — would have increased the state’s 2018 total graduation rate by 0.2 percentage points, said Cindy Kazanis, director of the California Department of Education’s Analysis, Measurement and Accountability Reporting Division. Nearly 6,000 students from the previous school year finished courses and earned a diploma in 2018.

While only impacting a small percentage of the student population, CDE staff said the new measure will place a greater focus on supporting and tracking student groups that traditionally need more services. The CDE’s recommendation reads, the rate “offers schools and districts additional time and incentive to work with and provide support to those students who did not graduate within four years.”

Stories of student athletes who suffer major injuries and even death caused by avoidable circumstances are heartbreaking, and districts should strive to prevent such occurrences. Coaches must meet minimum qualifications to ensure they possess an appropriate level of competence, knowledge and skill. They must be trained to recognize, prevent and appropriately respond to symptoms related to concussions, head injuries and sudden cardiac arrest syndrome; to remove the student from play if injury and/or symptoms occur; and to not allow the student to return to play until the student is evaluated and given written clearance by a health care provider. Additionally, coaches must be trained in the signs, symptoms and appropriate response to heat illness, such as dehydration and heat exhaustion, and to follow practices that assist in the prevention of heat illness. Preventative measures include gradually increasing the intensity and duration of exercise to acclimate student athletes to heat, providing adequate rest breaks, making water available during all athletic activities and altering practice plans in extreme environmental conditions.