SCA 22 would amend the California Constitution to allow school district parcel taxes to pass with the approval of 55 percent of local voters, rather than the current two-thirds requirement. Among other provisions, parcel tax propositions would have to include a list of programs and purposes to be funded and a requirement that funds be spent solely for those programs, as well as a requirement for an annual independent audit of the tax proceeds collected and expended. The governing board placing the measure would also be required to create a citizens’ oversight board to review all expenditures of proceeds and financial audits, and report its findings to the governing board and the public.

The May Revision aligns with the Governor’s overall cautious approach and, consistent with recent budgets, generally shies away from adding ongoing spending. But the revised budget makes little progress toward the full and fair funding of public schools at a time when California is in the bottom 10 states nationally in per-pupil funding.

“The increase in the Proposition 98 guarantee is certainly welcome and will come as a relief to school districts and county offices of education as they grapple with rising transportation, utility, and health and welfare costs,” said CSBA President Mike Walsh. “Simply funding LCFF to targets set five years ago, however, is nowhere close to the full and fair funding needed to provide all California students with an education that prepares them for college, career and civic life.”

From the iconic companies of Silicon Valley to San Diego’s biotech firms, from Greater LA’s aerospace and entertainment industries to agricultural applications in the Central Valley, science and technology are the economic engines driving California’ economy. If we want to keep it that way — and maintain our global leadership — we must prioritize thoughtful approaches to STEM education that increase both student learning and equity.

CSBA’s continued leadership on STEM education will be on full display at next month’s Leadership Institute, scheduled for July 13 and 14 in San Francisco. This year’s event, titled The Science of Leading Students to STEM Success, will provide a wealth of tools, information and resources related to student achievement. The presentations and workshops will provide crucial insights on policies and practices that governing teams can use to support STEM learning and promote equity, access and excellence.

As executive director of Latina Girls Code, Stephanie Castillo works to bridge and eliminate the diversity gap for girls, specifically Latinas, interested in entering the tech world. California School News asked Castillo to share her perspective on the importance of opportunity and access to the tech fields for all students ahead of her appearance at CSBA’s Leadership Institute, July 13–14.

March 2018 Masters in Governance Graduates

Computer science-related occupations are the number one source of all new wages in the United States, according to Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities.

California currently has 74,303 open computing jobs, and had only 4,029 computer science graduates in 2015. Even more concerning, in the 2016–17 school year, only 580 schools in California offered an AP Computer Science course.

Perhaps anticipating this growing need, Assembly Bill 1539, passed in 2014, directed the California Department of Education, Instructional Quality Commission and State Board of Education to develop computer science standards for the state. The recently completed Draft Computer Science Standards are now available for public review and comment through June 20, 2018, on the CDE website at https://bit.ly/2cGC57V. Public comment will also be welcomed at the September SBE meeting.

“By at least one measure — rising high school graduation rates — educational attainment in the United States is the highest it has ever been,” the researchers said. “Without subsequent increases in college graduation, youth employment and civic participation rates, however, questions persist around the quality of education that the high school diploma represents.”

To reach their conclusions, the researchers reviewed coursework requirements for a basic, non-advanced high school diploma for each state. They also assessed whether those courses met requirements for admission to the state’s public university system and career-readiness benchmarks.