Contents

• CSBA 2024 Leadership
• CSBA Membership at a Glance
• CSBA Financial Data
• Advocacy
• Communications
• CSBA Legal Office and Education Legal Alliance
• District and COE Legal Services
• Member Services
• Policy and Governance Technology Services
• Research and Education Policy Development

Vernon M. Billy
CEO & Executive Director

The roles and responsibilities of school boards have expanded greatly over the years, but the core mission of governance teams — creating the conditions for student success — remains unchanged. Equally unwavering is the devotion of school district and county office of education boards to the success of our state’s 5.8 million public school students. That commitment was on great display in 2024 as schools continued to innovate and prepare more students for college, career and civic life. And over the past year, CSBA continued its commitment to support the efforts of local boards and make your hard work more efficient and more fruitful.

CSBA staff, with the engagement and support of our membership, worked to secure needed funding, pass crucial legislation, develop policies, introduce training opportunities and publish research that facilitates the conditions required for success. Some of the most prominent accomplishments are highlighted in this report, providing testament to the power of vision, collaboration and perseverance in the face of evolving demands.

These successful efforts are cause for celebration, yet we recognize our work is far from complete. California’s public schools still face significant challenges, including widening opportunity and achievement gaps, declining enrollment and funding uncertainties. As we look ahead, it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to accelerate student performance and create opportunities for every child.

If we proceed with intention, courage and determination, we can build on the progress we’ve made and create a brighter future for California’s students. I promise we will continue to advocate, innovate and serve as your steadfast partner in this journey. Together, we will keep fighting the good fight for school district and county trustees, students and our schools.

Let’s embrace the challenges of 2025 with a clear eye, but also with optimism, hope and an unyielding belief in our ability to enact positive change.

The best is yet to come.

• Website — Created upgraded webpages for major CSBA initiatives including education workforce housing, research and policy briefs and staff pages, County Board Member Services, budget resources, a new board member training bundle, the Safe Schools Toolkit, AI Taskforce resources, Annual Education Conference and Trade Show and the Golden Awards.
• Webinars — Produced 24 webinars on topics of special interest including artificial intelligence (AI) in schools, CSBA’s lawsuit against the state for Prop 98 violations, the integration of county boards into CSBA and school communications and crisis management.

• O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier — In 2023, the ELA filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of Michelle O’Connor Ratcliff, a Poway Unified School District trustee, in a matter related to the use of social media by public officials. On March 15, 2024, the Court developed a new and more restrictive test for determining when public officials can be held liable for First Amendment violations related to management of their social media accounts, in line with the arguments made by the ELA in its amicus brief.

• The ELA and Fagan Friedman & Fulfrost (F3) collectively received the California Lawyers Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Law 2024 for the amicus brief filed in this case.

• Board policies and bylaws — Published more than 130 new and updated sample board policies and bylaws, administrative regulations and exhibits for district and county governance teams, including:

• Updating two policies in response to the new Mathematics Framework: 6142.92 – Mathematics Instruction and 6152.1 – Placement in Mathematics Courses
• Incorporating language about the use of artificial intelligence into two sample policies: 4040 – Employee Use of Technology and 6163.4 – Student Use Of Technology

• Assembly Bill 1078 — Released a special packet updating more than a dozen policies in response to the enactment of AB 1078, including:

• 4119.11 – Sex Discrimination and Sex-Based Harassment

• Original research — Conducted research and published fact sheets, briefs and reports on topics including:

• Chronic absenteeism: csba.pub/ChronicAbsenceBrief24
• Navigating contentious meetings: csba.pub/
  governance-best-practices
• Late start: csba.pub/LateStartFactSheet
• Instructional materials adoption (print and webinar resources funded by the Gates Foundation): csba.pub/instructional-materials
• Member survey results on zero-emission school bus implementation: csba.pub/zero-emission-bus