In a Jan. 23 webinar, CSBA experts in education law and policy reviewed all aspects of immigration policy related to California public schools. The majority of the webinar examined the impact that the Trump Administration’s new directive to rescind a longstanding “sensitive locations” policy — which previously limited immigration enforcement activities at schools, child care centers, churches and hospitals unless there was an immediate public safety threat — would have on local educational agencies. Under the new directive, immigration agents may conduct enforcement actions near or at schools.

There are certain moments in life you will always remember. The first time I took the stage at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference was undoubtedly one of those moments. I remember staring out into a sea of faces, a huge audience filled with many old friends and thousands of people I had never met. I recall thinking what an awesome responsibility had been given to each and every person in that room, and how our shared purpose brought together so many different people from so many walks of life. No matter where we called home, how old we were, where we worked or what we looked like, we shared a common bond — a commitment to the education and welfare of California’s students.

At times like this, when the country seems divided and the conversation around schools is so fiercely partisan, it is helpful to reflect on our common bond and remember that what unites us is greater than what divides us. No matter what you see on the news, what happens in our State Legislature or the nation’s capital, all the same reasons that inspired you to run for school board still exist. And believe it or not, most of your colleagues had similar reasons for pursuing this demanding and sometimes unforgiving job. There’s very little glamour in serving as a school trustee, and even less money, but there is boundless opportunity — the opportunity to provide every child a fair shot in life, to give back to your community and to build a better future. These are noble goals. These are American goals. These are universal goals.

As California’s educational landscape evolves, school districts must adapt to fluctuating revenues and student populations. One critical aspect of this dynamic environment is the mid-March staff layoff notices, often necessary to ensure fiscal stability and align resources with student needs. For new trustees, understanding the March 15 notice process is essential, as these decisions profoundly impact both district operations and the lives of employees and students.

The March 15 notice is a formal announcement from a school district to employees that they may be released for the following school year. Governing board members must be well-versed in this process, its implementation and its strict legal requirements. Assembly Bill 438 (2022) extended the layoff procedures for permanent classified employees to mirror those of certificated employees, adding complexity to the governance team’s responsibilities.

The 2022–23 academic year marked the first year later school start times were mandated for all of California’s middle and high schools (with the exception of rural schools). This mandate was signed into law in 2019 through Senate Bill 328 in response to scientific research that shows that later start times better align with the circadian rhythms of teenage students and, therefore, produce a host of benefits.

While the legislation was well intended, a blanket statewide policy raised concerns from educational partners who pointed out that the diverse circumstances of the state’s local educational agencies would make universal implementation challenging and that there were few flexibilities allowed for a district’s local control or decision-making.

With the two-year 2025–26 legislative session underway, it is a good time to assess the significant changes in the State Senate and State Assembly, which have undergone substantial turnover as a result of the 2024 elections. New appointments made by the respective leaders of the two legislative houses could also shape educational policy.

The 2024 General Election was a bellwether moment in California politics. It represented the end of the first class of legislators elected under the new term limits reform adopted by voters via Proposition 28 (2012). Prop 28 reformed term limits, permitting legislators to serve up to 12 years cumulatively, in either house of the State Legislature. Most legislators successfully re-elected to office serve the entirety of the 12 years in one house.

Emery Unified School District — a two-school district located in the Bay Area — has seen significant improvement among its African American students in recent years, with test scores on the rise and chronic absence rates declining.

As local educational agencies nationwide struggle to improve outcomes for this student group, 2023–24 Smarter Balanced assessment results show 40.4 percent of Black students met or exceeded the standard for English language arts (ELA) and 16.8 percent met or exceeded the standard for math. This represents a substantial improvement from the 2021–22 school year during which 24.3 percent met or exceeded ELA standards and just 8.8 percent met or exceeded the standard for math.

The importance of early childhood education is well established. It is linked with later success in school and life, with a stronger foundation in language, literacy and numeracy, and more fully developed social and self-regulation skills. Perhaps for these reasons, early childhood education continued to be a legislative priority in 2024 when a number of bills were signed into law that impact the services and supports provided in preschool, transitional kindergarten (TK) and child care programs. These new regulations impact student eligibility for enrollment, enrollment priorities, curriculum, instruction and more.

Senate Bill 163 (2024) authorizes districts and county offices of education to enroll 2-year-old children until 2027 into part- and full-day programs that are age and developmentally appropriate and designed to facilitate the transition to kindergarten. In order to support districts and COEs in these efforts, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction will be developing guidance for California State Preschool Programs (CSPP) to follow when enrolling 2-year-olds in accordance with Assembly Bill 176 (2024).

The California State Board of Education (SBE) began the new year by discussing various items related to accountability, curriculum, instructional materials and more during its Jan. 15 meeting.

The State Board is still accepting feedback on updates to the Student Score Report (SSR) that may impact how a student and their parents interpret the student’s results on state standardized tests. At its November meeting, the SBE delayed action on these changes, partially in response to concerns from the public, including CSBA, that the changes could be too vague and confusing.

In October 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on a motion to dismiss in the case of Loffman v. California Department of Education, a lawsuit filed by three families (parent plaintiffs) and two Orthodox Jewish schools (school plaintiffs) who challenged the state’s requirement that nonpublic schools (NPSs) be nonsectarian. The court found in favor of the parents, whose claims had been dismissed by the lower court, as to some of the claims and returned the case to the lower NPSs are private schools that, through a contract with a local educational agency, enroll students whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) requires such placement. All NPSs must receive certification from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to operate as an NPS. NPSs only serve special education students and provide a specific placement option that only a public school can determine is necessary for a special education student. Due to the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act’s (IDEA) requirement that students be educa ted in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and be mainstreamed with general education students as much as possible, students may only be placed at an NPS if the severity of their disability requires that placement, and if the IEP team determines that there is no other suitable placement for the student. Indeed, federal IDEA regulations require that the student must be placed at the school they would have attended if they were nondisabled, unless a different placement like an NPS is deemed necessary by the public school. NPSs must contract with any LEA that places students there and the LEA pays the NPS for its services. Any school that applies to be certified as an NPS must be “nonsectarian:” that is, it cannot be owned, operated by or controlled by any religious entity.

California adopted a new K-12 mathematics framework in 2023 with the goal of promoting the complex skills students need to succeed in their education and beyond, including mastery of challenging content, critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication and collaboration.

The shift requires local educational agencies to identify, review, pilot and adopt instructional materials aligned with the framework — but the work doesn’t stop there, experts emphasized during a Jan. 22 webinar hosted by CSBA.

The Butte County Office of Education’s use of trauma-informed arts educators following the Camp Fire can be duplicated in local educational agencies across the state to support student well-being.

The program began in response to 2018’s Camp Fire — the deadliest wildfire in California’s history at the time, which burned more than 153,300 acres and destroyed nearly 14,000 residences, leaving an estimated 30,000 people displaced.