In an unorthodox end to the 2025–26 legislative session, the Legislature extended the session past midnight on Aug. 31, 2026, and conducted business Sept. 1. Considered the busiest time of the year for the Legislature, the end of the legislative session typically runs for two weeks and is composed of daily convenings of the full bodies of the Legislature, known as “floor sessions,” where the 40 members of the State Senate and 80 members of the State Assembly meet daily to consider and vote on measures that have made it this far in the legislative process.

Many new and upcoming resources and events available to local educational agencies were discussed at the Aug. 13 California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) board meeting.

Among them was the Statewide System of Support Toolkit that includes materials ranging from universal resources to data dashboards and self-assessment frameworks. “Under the Self-Assessment section, we have linked to the BASICS tool to help LEAs in their improvement journeys specifically serving students with disabilities, as well as the Levers for System Change tool, which is a newer self-assessment designed for LEAs to assess their systems and ultimately improve outcomes for all students,” according to the CCEE. “We also have the Universal PreKindergarten Technical Assistance Tool, which generates uniquely tailored options for the blending, braiding and layering of funding to enhance your Universal PreKindergarten infrastructure.”

Public education has always evolved to meet the needs of society. As our communities change, our economy transforms and new technologies reshape how we live and work, our schools are called to do what they have always done: prepare young people for the future before them.

That is why one question has stayed with me throughout the summer: Are we designing schools to meet this moment?

When students at Santa Ana High School said in 2019 that they wanted the opportunity to connect to their culture through music, leaders at HALOS — a district-funded afterschool program — got to work buying instruments popular in Latin regional music including guitars, accordions and more.

Now, the Palomazo Academy, which HALOS hosts every Tuesday and Thursday, provides access to instruments and peer instruction at no cost to students. And, perhaps more importantly, it offers students a safe space to create, build confidence and connect to their roots, according to HALOS Site Supervisor Ruby Echeverria.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2026 emergency order in Mirabelli v. Bonta has had a significant impact on parent/guardian rights and the treatment of student gender identity in public schools. This article summarizes the Mirabelli decision, identifies the key CSBA sample policy documents that are affected, and details how those sample policy documents have changed to reflect the Supreme Court order.

School leaders and educators play an important role in preparing students to become informed and engaged participants in democracy. Early exposure to civic education helps build lifelong habits that encourage participation, and schools are key players in conveying civic engagement opportunities.

Understanding special education is fundamental to effective governance. School board members make decisions that shape policies, allocate resources and establish priorities that directly affect California students with disabilities. CSBA’s new brief, “California’s Children and Youth with Disabilities,” provides information about California’s children with disabilities, the sometimes-complicated challenge of accurately assessing these conditions, the importance of early intervention and the implications of identifying a child as having a disability. With accurate information, board members can make the best decisions to ensure equity, transparency and accountability in the education provided to all students.

Attendance rates plummeted among Centralia Elementary School District children during the COVID-19 pandemic just as they had in local educational agencies throughout the country. Prior to the pandemic, the district boasted just a 5 percent chronic absenteeism rate, which spiked to 22 percent.

After a student shared her experience and challenges trying to access the SAT locally with the board of trustees, Imperial County Office of Education worked swiftly to ensure barriers to the test were addressed.

In July, the COE introduced its SAT Test Center, located at its El Centro site, with the first administration taking place in August. This was a significant development, as in recent years it wasn’t uncommon for students to have to travel more than 100 miles outside of the county to take the exam.

At the end of July, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the recission of various Title VI regulations that implemented legal protections against disparate impact discrimination. This is a significant revision to federal anti-discrimination law and diverges from California’s anti-discrimination law under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Now, under federal law, those wishing to show discrimination must prove intent to discriminate, a difficult showing in many instances, for all claims.

As Suicide Prevention Month is observed in September, programs like Laguna Beach High School’s Student Support Collective (SSC), a peer-led network aimed at promoting overall student well-being, highlight the importance that safe and supportive relationships can make for young people year-round.

A new report from Insightful Education Solutions (effectivepatheways.com) examines whether states have the foundational conditions — well-structured pathways, reliable data, workforce alignment and public transparency — needed to credibly assess and improve their career technical education (CTE) programs.

Despite the explosive expansion of CTE in recent years, the report finds that among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, pathway-level completion and outcomes data are frequently missing or inconsistent, as is assessment of workforce alignment and public transparency.

When the California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) Federated Council voted unanimously to add girls flag football as a statewide sanctioned sport for the 2023–24 school year, there had already been a boost in interest among young people in recreational leagues as well as burgeoning financial and material support from the NFL, which advocated for the sport to be added to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

According to the latest CIF Sports Participation Survey released Aug. 3, flag football is now the sixth most popular sport among girls by participation.