A major disappointment for schools was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval of Assembly Bill 438. Authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), this new law will expand the March 15 certificated layoff deadline to include classified employees. CSBA took an Oppose position on the bill, and members raised their concerns about being forced to commit to labor costs without knowing their full budget with their representatives at Legislative Action Week in March. When the bill reached the Governor’s desk in September, nearly 450 local governance leaders wrote to the to warn him that doubling down on the March 15 deadline would increase instability for their schools and students. Despite these efforts, Gov. Newsom signed the bill on Oct. 8.
AB 824 (Bennett, D-Santa Barbara): Establishes a process for county boards of education and charter schools to appoint one or more high school pupils as student members of their governing bodies.
Other highlights among the new K-12 laws signed by the Governor include:
- AB 361 (Robert Rivas, D-Salinas): An urgency measure that continues the authority granted during the COVID-19 crisis and allow local agencies, including school boards, to meet remotely during a declared state of emergency. Signed into law on Sept. 16. CSBA position: Support
- AB 815 (Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley): Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to approve a clear credential program offered by an LEA for school nursing and requires the CTC to apply the standards for approval of a program of professional preparation offered by a postsecondary educational institution to a program of professional preparation offered by an LEA. Signed into law on Oct. 8. CSBA position: Support
- AB 824 (Bennett, D-Santa Barbara): Establishes a process for county boards of education and charter schools to appoint one or more high school pupils as student members of their governing bodies in response to a student petition. Signed into law on Oct. 8. CSBA position: Support
- Senate Bill 4 (Gonzalez, D-Long Beach)/AB 14 (Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters): Continues the ongoing collection of funds deposited into the California Advanced Services Fund to provide communities with grants to expand broadband access. Signed into law on Oct. 8. CSBA position: Support
- SB 14 (Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge): Requires mental or behavioral health-related absences to count as an excused absence for school attendance reporting and requires the California Department of Education to recommend best practices and identify evidence-based and evidence-informed training programs for schools to address youth behavioral health, including staff and student training, by Jan. 1, 2023. Signed into law on Oct. 8. CSBA position: Support If Amended
- SB 270 (Durazo, D-Los Angeles): Beginning July 1, 2022, will permit an exclusive labor representative to file an unfair labor practice with the Public Employment Relations Board if a public agency fails to provide employee contact information within 30 days of a request for that information, limit the public employer’s ability to cure the alleged violation, and permit a penalty of up to $10,000 and provides a right to attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. Signed into law on Sept. 27. CSBA position: Oppose
- SB 278 (Leyva, D-Chino): Requires public agencies, when CalPERS determines that compensation agreed to under a collective bargaining agreement is non-pensionable, to pay penalties in a lump sum and pay CalPERS the full cost of any overpayment of paid benefits made to the affected retired member, survivor or beneficiary resulting from the disallowed compensation. Signed into law on Sept. 27. CSBA position: Oppose
- SB 488 (Rubio, D-Baldwin Park): Effectively replaces the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment by July 1, 2025, by requiring the CTC to integrate updated reading assessments into the existing Teaching Performance Assessment. Signed into law on Oct. 8. CSBA position: Support