September 2025

September 2025 Vol. 31, 9

County

COE leaders engage at County Board Conference

Highlights included a panel about juvenile justice, keynote speakers and micro-trainings

More than 130 leaders from county offices of education across the state came together in Monterey from Sept. 5-7 for CSBA’s 2025 County Board Conference.

During his opening remarks, CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy brought the crowd to their feet for a round of applause in recognition of their critical work.

Read Full Article

A child's hand pulls a red book from a bookshelf.

Resources

Navigating opt-out requests in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment required a district to provide parents with notice and the ability to opt their elementary school students out of instruction involving LGBTQ+ storybooks on the grounds that it violated their First Amendment rights by substantially interfering with their children’s religious development.

AEC

Countdown to AEC: Meet speaker Dr. Rumman Chowdhury

Resources

Hispanic Heritage Month spotlight

What’sInside

President’s Message
Training
County
Resources
State
Legal
Policy

More online
www.csba.org

training

CSBA announces new training for members interested in education workforce housing

Bootcamp offers one-day intensive training

In response to surging interest across the state, CSBA is offering a new training opportunity to learn the basics about education workforce housing (EWH), a rapidly growing solution for local educational agencies in areas where the high cost or low supply of housing hinders their ability to retain and recruit staff.

Read Full Article

Staff

Chief Communications Officer:
Troy Flint | tflint@csba.org

Editorial Director:
Kimberly Sellery | ksellery@csba.org

Marketing & Communications Director:
Monica Griffis | mgriffis@csba.org

Graphic Design & Branding Director:
Kerry Macklin | kmacklin@csba.org

Graphic Designers:
Thairah Singharath | tsingharath@csba.org
Amanda Moen | amoen@csba.org

Officers

President:
Dr. Bettye Lusk | Monterey Peninsula USD

President-elect:
Dr. Debra Schade | Solana Beach SD

Vice President:
Sabrena Rodriguez | Ventura USD

Immediate Past President:
Albert Gonzalez | Santa Clara USD

CEO & Executive Director:
Vernon M. Billy

The California School Boards Association is the essential voice for public education. We inspire our members to be knowledgeable leaders, extraordinary governance practitioners and ardent advocates for all students.

California School News (ISSN 1091-1715) is published 11 times per year by the California School Boards Association, Inc., 3251 Beacon Blvd., West Sacramento, CA 95691. 916-371-4691. $4 of CSBA annual membership dues is for the subscription to California School News. The subscription rate for each CSBA nonmember is $35. Periodicals postage paid at West Sacramento, CA and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to California School News, 3251 Beacon Blvd., West Sacramento, CA 95691.

News and feature items submitted for publication are edited for style and space as necessary.

President’s Message: Bettye Lusk

Education: It is personal and professional

CSBA’s county conference showcased the dedication of school trustees and the indelible mark we can leave

I’ve spent the last 50 years on California’s magnificent Central Coast, most of them as a teacher, counselor, principal or trustee in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD). So, when I had the chance to welcome county board members from across California to my hometown of Monterey, it was the perfect intersection of my personal and professional lives. Of course, like many educators, the personal and the professional are almost completely intertwined, as I was reminded repeatedly during the three days of CSBA’s 2025 County Board Conference.

Read Full Article

resources

Navigating opt-out requests in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor

CSBA offers some key considerations for creating opt-out procedures and forms

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment required a district to provide parents with notice and the ability to opt their elementary school students out of instruction involving LGBTQ+ storybooks on the grounds that it violated their First Amendment rights by substantially interfering with their children’s religious development. However, the Court did not specify how districts and county offices of education are to implement the requirement to provide notice and permit opt-outs. The opinion simply noted that the question of whether certain instructional content “substantially interfer[es] with the religious development” of a student “will always be fact-intensive.” The Court explained…

Read Full Article

state

State budget eliminates critical tools to fund school facilities

Housing budget trailer bill removes important exemptions available to LEAs

A large yellow excavator is parked on a dirt construction site, with its bucket resting on the ground in the foreground. In the background, a red brick school building is under construction, with scaffolding and other building materials scattered around. The sky is clear and blue.

With little public input or the opportunity to raise concerns about its sweeping changes, Assembly Bill 130, the housing budget trailer bill, was quickly amended, adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 30.

Read Full Article

resources

Supporting Hispanic students and families experiencing homelessness

Strategies for identification and resource distribution

A thoughtful-looking young boy sits at a school desk, holding his chin with his hand. He is wearing a red shirt. Other students are blurred in the background.

The percentage of students who experienced homelessness in California rose from 4 percent in 2022–23 to roughly 5 percent (286,853 individuals) in 2023–24, according to the most recent state data available via the California Department of Education’s DataQuest. For students who identify as Hispanic or Latino, a group that makes up a majority of the public school population, the rate increased from 5.3 percent in 2022–23 to 6.2 percent in 2023–24 — representing 210,800 young people.

Read Full Article

AEC

Expert in AI and education previews AEC keynote

AEC will take place in Sacramento from Wednesday, Dec. 3, through Friday, Dec. 5

CSBA’s 2025 Annual Education Conference and Trade Show (AEC), taking place Dec. 3-5 in Sacramento, will feature keynote speaker Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, whose passion lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and humanity. A pioneer in AI ethics and governance, Chowdhury helps organizations and communities navigate the complexities of AI with transparency, accountability and practical solutions.

Chowdhury is the CEO and co-founder of Humane Intelligence, a nonprofit advancing community-driven AI auditing and evaluation, and is the appointed U.S. Science Envoy for Artificial Intelligence. Chowdhury answered some questions from CSBA ahead of her General Session appearance on Dec. 5.

Read Full Article

Resources

Help is available: Expanding awareness of support services during Suicide Prevention Month

988 suicide crisis helpline aims to make access easy

September is Suicide Prevention Month — a time to raise awareness about this urgently important crisis. Currently, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-14, the third leading cause of death among those ages 15-24 and the 12th leading cause of death overall in the U.S.

Hopefully those numbers start to trend downward as more people become aware of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which marked its third anniversary since launching nationwide in July.

Read Full Article

legal

Court clarifies basis for school district immunity under Education Code 44808

Employee’s actions off campus and outside district sponsorship or supervision did not create liability

The Court of Appeal for the second appellate district recently held that Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was not liable for the death of a student that was caused by a district employee off-campus, after school hours, and outside the sponsorship or supervision of the district. In Taylor v. LAUSD, the court clarified that Education Code Section 44808 provides immunity to school districts in this type of scenario.

Read Full Article

POLICY

Back-to-school safety through a policy lens

CSBA sample policy and administrative regulation on Comprehensive School Safety Plans

School safety continues to be a priority for school districts and county offices of education and their governing board members, administrators, students, staff and families. While school safety encompasses a wide range of topics from child abuse prevention and reporting to earthquake emergency procedures to protocols in the event of an opioid overdose and much more, this article focuses on policy updates related to recent legislation.

Read Full Article

RESOURCES

Reframing chronic absence as a public health issue

The new approach emphasizes collective action

More than one in four children in the U.S. are chronically absent, defined as missing 10 percent or more of their school days, putting their long-term learning, health, development and economic prospects at risk. Chronic absence affects all students, with significant disparities by geography, race and socioeconomic status. Absences due to mental or physical health challenges are one of the most common contributors.

Read Full Article

Learn More

COUNTY

New CSBA handbook created exclusively for county board governance

Includes essential governance information and room for reflection

As leaders in education, county office of education board members must live by the standards they uphold for their students — to be lifelong learners that strive to better themselves and hold themselves accountable to high standards.

Fulfilling a board’s obligations to students and community means pursuing continuous improvement and learning and honing governance skills. The “CSBA County Board Governance Handbook” is designed to facilitate that professional growth and assist COE board members in their governance journey.

Read Full Article

UpcomingEvents info: 800-266-3382

Attention: For more information about events, visit www.csba.org/TrainingAndEvents.

Virtual Events

Oct. 1-2 | MIG Course 2: Student Learning & Achievement/ Policy & Judicial Review

Oct. 16-17 | Executive Assistant (EA) Certification Program Sigma: Job Mechanics 3A/3B

Oct. 22-23 | MIG Course 3: School Finance Parts 1 & 2

In-person events

Sept. 20 | Stockton | Torrance
MIG Course 3: School Finance Parts 1 & 2

Oct. 4 | Stockton | Torrance
MIG Course 4: Human Resources/Collective Bargaining

Oct. 15 | San Jose
Education Workforce Housing Bootcamp

Oct. 18 | Stockton | Torrance
MIG Course 5: Community Relations & Advocacy/Governance Integration