The 2022 budget cycle was a long and winding road for schools, as an initial budget bill — Senate Bill 154 — that offered few details faded into weeks of last-minute bargaining between the stakeholders, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. After months of dedicated advocacy from CSBA and local education leaders across the state, the final agreement — signed into law by the Governor just one day before the new fiscal year started on July 1 — provides significant and key wins for schools on Local Control Funding Formula funding, COVID attendance relief and home-to-school transportation.

These wins were long fought and are the result of consistent and effective advocacy by every school board member across the state who participated in CSBA’s advocacy, from Legislative Action Week to the multiple phone, email and advocacy campaigns organized by CSBA staff. Without this collective effort, these significant achievements would not have been realized.

Summer learning programs support accelerated learning and encourage positive youth development, career development and even college preparation. While summer learning programs are optional for districts and county offices of education (COE), they can provide opportunities for students to practice essential skills and make academic progress — something especially important as local educational agencies focus on learning recovery and acceleration for students who experienced learning loss during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many district and county office boards recognize that an extended break from instructional classroom days may result in significant learning loss, especially among underserved and low-achieving students. Key findings from an evaluation published by the California Department of Education found that summer learning programs in Fresno, Los Angeles and Sacramento increased participating students’ instructional grade level by over one-third of a grade on the San Diego Quick Assessment, ending the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level. Similarly, English learners across communities demonstrated statistically significant increases in their grade-level vocabulary skills, a gateway to English language fluency. Parents also reported that summer learning programs help youth prepare for the challenge of transitioning from elementary to middle school, a period when many youths begin to disengage from school.

In politics and in life, it’s especially gratifying when you achieve an ambitious goal, overcoming challenges and skepticism along the way. That was the path CSBA took en route to key victories for public schools during this year’s budget negotiations. When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed education budget trailer bills Assembly Bill 181 and AB 182 into law on June 30, he codified several provisions that reflected CSBA’s priorities and will deliver billions of dollars annually to California schools and the students they serve.

Most notable in terms of CSBA’s influence, was the historic allocation for home-to-school transportation. Because of CSBA’s persistent advocacy on this issue, the state will now, after 40 years of substandard and insufficient funding, provide funding on an ongoing basis, paying for 60 percent of reimbursable home-to-school transportation costs for all local educational agencies — double the current average of 30 percent! The budget trailer bills increase funding for home-to-school transportation by $637 million in ongoing Proposition 98 funding, add $1.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 funding for a state-wide zero-emissions school bus program that prioritizes rural and low-income LEAs, and provide an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) equal to 60 percent of an LEA’s transportation costs or its current Local Control Funding Formula home-to-school transportation add-on.

There have been many great programs that the district implemented to foster learning recovery. One such program is Air Tutors, which is a free tutoring program that was available to all children in the district. Some students were identified by their teachers for participation, while parents also had the option to enroll their child. Air Tutors worked by grouping students together by grade level and subject to provide after-school support. Another program to aid in education recovery was the Jumpstart Program, which was a two-week program offered during the summer. Students could attend either in person or online. Jumpstart was offered to all students prior to coming back to school, to help both students that may have been falling behind, as well as for those families who felt their child would benefit from gaining a head start. Over 700 children participated in this program.

Teacher shortages are making it increasingly difficult for schools to address the academic needs of students, which have only become deeper as educators work to help children overcome pre-existing gaps that were exacerbated by extended pandemic-driven campus closures.

Recognizing how widespread the issue is, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee convened a hearing May 25, “Tackling Teacher Shortages,” during which a panel of experts discussed potential solutions and avenues in which federal investment could aid in the effort of recruiting, training and retaining well-prepared educators.

“Our witnesses lay out solutions for many of the problems we face,” said committee Chair Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Connecticut). “I share their view that proactive investments in pipelines and preparation programs will help us reduce shortages in the years to come.”

The June 16 governing board meeting of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence included updates on the agency’s three centers as well as on direct technical assistance being offered to school districts.

This center aims to partner with educators, communities and organizations to help schools meet students’ evolving needs. Its Deputy Executive Director Chris Hartley presented key programs the center is engaging in — including a community engagement initiative, statewide system of support, one system collective and universal preK system of support — and what has been learned thus far.

One lesson learned was about capacity building and how CCEE can support education leaders in growing capacity and making improvements to address local issues. Hartley said that building capacity looks different around the state, especially with the variability in district size. “We have to look at capacity building with different lenses depending on people [we are] serving,” Hartley said.