The California School Boards Association exists for a clear and vital purpose: to be the essential voice for public education and to inspire our members to be knowledgeable leaders, extraordinary governance practitioners and ardent advocates for all students. At every level, CSBA’s work in 2025 was guided by the conviction that strong local boards are crucial to ensuring a high-quality education for every student in every community.

CSBA’s success in 2025 demonstrates what is possible when governance, advocacy, research, policy, training and member services align to define and advance the public education agenda. Throughout the year, CSBA’s policy and advocacy efforts demonstrated that strong governance begins with a powerful voice and a clear message. In a challenging fiscal and political climate, CSBA helped secure meaningful policy and budgetary wins that protected local decision-making and directed critical funding and resources to schools. From sponsoring and passing legislation that modernizes trustee compensation and expands access to education workforce housing, to pressuring the state to identify and eliminate redundant, ineffective and onerous reporting requirements, CSBA ensured that policymakers heard directly from those responsible for local schools and the students they serve.

CSBA’s advocacy extended to the legal realm, where we defended local authority through the courts, ensuring that the rule of law supports effective governance, and providing trusted legal guidance to help boards navigate a complex and evolving landscape.

CSBA also supported governance teams in their professional growth through conferences, trainings and the redesigned Masters in Governance® program. CSBA’s investments in governance training, education policy and research help boards build the governance capacity that lays the groundwork to improve educational outcomes for all students.

We enter 2026 with renewed determination and a bold but necessary campaign calling on the state to develop a comprehensive operations and support plan that assists — not dictates to — local educational agencies working to close achievement gaps. While the state has made efforts in this direction, they lack cohesion and rigor. Fragmented programs, duplicative reporting requirements and unaligned supports undermine the very goals they are intended to advance. Local leaders need clarity, flexibility and meaningful partnership — not compliance-driven complexity. It’s time for the state to reimagine its approach to supporting LEAs and the state agencies that serve them.

CSBA’s advocacy in the year ahead will build on the foundation laid in 2025, leveraging our research, legal expertise, communications reach and member engagement to press for systemic solutions. This effort is not about shifting responsibility; it is about coordinating systems so that local innovation, state support and student needs are aligned within a system that makes reciprocal accountability one of its foundational pillars.

The work ahead demands courage and determination. Together, CSBA and its members will continue to lead, not only in defending local governance, but in shaping a public education system worthy of California’s students and the future they deserve.