As the curtain fell on another legislative year, Gov. Gavin Newsom had more than 1,000 bills sent to his desk to be vetoed or signed into law. CSBA had much to celebrate with three sponsored bills signed that will make needed reforms to school board recall and special elections and support districts in developing workforce housing. At the same time, many proposals were vetoed due to unfunded costs — a sign that the political winds may be shifting for the 2023–24 legislative session.

Microlearning modules — brief videos led by “master teachers” who share concepts, tools and resources to support substitute teachers, para-educators and non-certificated instructional staff — were soft launched by the organization over summer and have received positive feedback. Video topics range from managing noise levels in classrooms to best practices for physical education and how to use the guided inquiry process. More modules will be available in the future.

Nearly 56 percent of California’s public school students are Latino or Hispanic. While these children have not been the minority group in our schools for some time, we have much ground to cover in ensuring their educational experiences deliver optimal outcomes, as evidenced by pervasive achievement gaps when compared to their white and Asian American peers.

Latino students have made significant academic progress over the last few decades, boasting higher graduation rates and enrollment in postsecondary education, as well as improved test scores. Yet between 2019 and 2021, nationwide, Latino students in third through eighth grade saw greater declines than their non-Latino white peers on both interim math and reading assessments, according to a report released in July by UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and advocacy organization.

Although spending reports for federal relief aid have provided some information about how much money LEAs have spent and — very broadly — in what categories, they do not tell the whole story of school leaders’ experiences with this funding at the local level.

CSBA and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) will host the second annual Coast2Coast Federal Advocacy Trip to Washington, D.C., from April 24–26, 2023. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this advocacy event to shine a light on the issues affecting the state’s 6 million K-12 students. California school district and county office of education board members and superintendents can bring their local issues straight to the nation’s Capital during this three-day event.

The 2023 Coast2Coast event will begin with a day of brushing up on education policy issues specific to California, an “insiders’” briefing on the latest politics affecting federal education policy, and a networking opportunity with prominent D.C. figures and fellow educators. This will be followed by two days of meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate directly with California congressional representatives, White House officials, key federal agency leaders and other top policymakers.

Call for nominations for CSBA’s Delegate Assembly will open Nov. 1, 2022. CSBA member boards may nominate board members to run for election up until Jan. 7, 2023. Nominees are required to submit a completed, signed and dated biographical sketch form by Jan. 7; an optional one-page, one-sided resume may be submitted as well. The election period for boards to vote runs from Feb. 1 to March 15, 2023. Elected Delegates serve two-year terms beginning April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2025.

CSBA’s Delegate Assembly is a vital link in the association’s governance structure. Working with local districts, county offices of education, the Board of Directors and officers, Delegates ensure that the association reflects the interests of school districts and county offices of education. In addition, they elect CSBA’s officers and Board of Directors, adopt the Policy Platform and Bylaws, serve on committees, and provide advocacy on behalf of public education and boards of education.

Visit www.csba.org/election to learn more about CSBA’s Delegate Assembly and to download relevant documents, including those for the nomination and election process.

With such benefits in mind and just in time for National Walk to School Day on Oct. 5, Chico Unified School District is launching a pilot Walking School Bus program — an initiative that promotes safe routes to school, often chaperoned by school personnel, or parent and community volunteers.

Districts throughout California are partnering with local municipalities, community organizations and agencies to promote and operate safe walking programs. For example, Monterey Peninsula USD works with Transportation Agency for Monterey County, while Santa Monica-Malibu USD partners with the City of Santa Monica.

NAEP reports are divided into five percentiles: lower- (10th and 25th percentiles), middle- (50th percentile) and higher- (75th and 90th percentiles) performing students. While the 2022 scores reflect a decline in all categories, scores for lower-performing 9-year-old students declined more than scores for higher-performing students compared to 2020. For example, in math, the 10th and 25th percentile of lower-performing students saw scores drop by 12 and 11 points, respectively; while scores in the 75th and 90th percentile of higher-performing students declined by five points and three points, respectively. The middle-performing group saw its average score decline by eight points.

During the 2021–22 school year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Legislature required districts and county offices of education (COEs) to offer independent study. Moving forward, districts and COEs are encouraged, but not required, to offer independent study programs.

Assembly Bill 181, the 2022–23 omnibus budget trailer bill that was enacted on June 30, 2022, and went into effect immediately, makes significant changes to independent study program requirements. Local educational agencies that offer independent study should update their written policies and agreements with students and families to reflect these changes.

Following robust discussion, the board approved proposed threshold scores for the California Alternate Assessment (CAA) for Science, as well as continued use of the adjusted form blueprints for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics, and the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) Student Score Reports (SSRs) for 2022–23.

After a tumultuous couple of years for testing that saw the board approve revisions to the 2021–22 CAASPP SSRs to account for a lack of testing at the height of the pandemic, the board is continuing to make adjustments.

“We saw during the pandemic the crucial role that county boards and superintendents play, but that service is not limited to times of crisis,” CSBA President Dr. Susan Heredia said during her address to the CCBE General Membership meeting on Sept. 10, capturing a theme present early and often throughout the three-day event. “The spirit of collaboration between county offices and local districts that grew during the pandemic must persist as we address learning recovery, equitable education, student mental health, staffing shortages and the myriad other challenges we face.”