Explore the impact on school finance in California: Revised attendance policies, a substantial 2023-24 budget boost, and refined public contract rules.

Unveiling new California legislation aimed at combating child abuse, drug misuse, and gun violence for enhanced school safety.

Unveiling California’s new education reforms: A focus on inclusive health, safety, and supportive learning environments.

Explore AB 1023’s impact on K-12 cyber safety in California, ensuring schools sync with Cal-CSIC for critical cybersecurity updates.

CA’s SB 88 sets new safety standards for student ride-share drivers, including background checks and training, impacting all student transport providers.

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must report cybersecurity attacks. Incidents of cyber attacks on LEAs had already...

Over the last few years, student services issues have been addressed largely through the state budget rather than...

Pair of bills aims to keep kids safe from gun violence while at school. The Governor signed two bills that raise...

Unprecedented revenue growth drives historic Proposition 98 funding. California tax revenue continued to grow at an...

Historic State Investment in School Facilities Focused on State Budget While Statewide Bonds Stalled. We began the...

In what seems to have become the norm over the past few years, some of the biggest bills for schools this year came in...

Temporary Changes to Brown Act teleconference requirements signed into law. During the pandemic, it became impossible...

2022 was a relatively quiet year in terms of the Legislature making significant changes to curriculum &...

State invests $6 billion in broadband infrastructure over 3 years. A problem that has been persistent in California for years, the digital divide was highlighted in a major way when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Perhaps more than any other sector, schools felt the impact of a sudden and almost total reliance on access to high-speed internet. In an effort to help remedy the issue, bills were quickly introduced in both houses of the state Legislature in 2020 and 2021. However, one of the most significant proposals this year came via enactment of the state budget.

This year, the youth mental health crisis received much-needed attention. Policymakers prioritized the issue responding to the pandemic’s exacerbation of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation rates amongst youth. A leading proponent on this issue was Senator Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), whose own family has been affected by suicide. The Senator authored companion bills related to youth mental health, both of which were signed by the Governor. SB 14, an urgency measure that took effect upon the Governor’s signature on October 8, adds “for the benefit of the pupil’s mental or behavioral health” to the list of categories of excused absences for purposes of school attendance. SB 14 also requires the California Department of Education (CDE), by January 1, 2023, to recommend best practices and identify evidence-based training programs for schools to address youth behavioral health. The language that would have required LEAs to train their staff utilizing these programs was removed from the bill late in the legislative process due to associated costs.