• Hosted a virtual Legislative Action Week in March when a record-breaking 370 school boards members (including a handful of superintendents) met with 99 legislators to advocate on issues including, but not limited to: state budget issues, broadband connectivity, and limited liability from COVID-19 claims.
• Helped secure $6 billion in state funding for increased broadband access in unserved and underserved areas of the state — an issue CSBA had been at the vanguard of advocating for since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
• Convinced the Newsom administration and Legislature to provide COVID-relief funding from Assembly Bill 86 to all school districts and county offices, including those that had already opened for in-person instruction prior to the bill’s introduction and adoption.
• Realized several CSBA priorities in the state budget, including:
  • Elimination of all apportionment deferrals
  • Full two-year enhanced compounded COLA (5.07 percent) for the Local Control Funding Formula
  • Two-year COLA (4.05 percent) for special education
  • Protected funding for an additional year of reduction in school employer pension contribution rates
• Protected the integrity of Proposition 98 by securing an increase in the guarantee to reflect additional students being added into the public school system through the expansion of transitional kindergarten.
• Lobbied successfully in Washington, D.C. for the inclusion of schools in federal stimulus bills and for the expansion of the school nutrition program to cover students at home during school shutdowns.
• Developed the multimedia School Boards in Action campaign to document the extraordinary lengths trustees have gone to educate students and provide for their mental and physical health during the pandemic. Campaign components included:
  • A landing page on CSBA’s website
  • Radio advertisements: (256 commercials and 135,178 streaming radio impressions)
  • Video series: Board Member Stories
  • Blog series examining ways in which LEAs are supporting students during the pandemic
  • Standalone e-blasts
  • Digital display advertisements
  • Social media advertisements (250,210 impressions)
• Produced more than 20 webinars on topics including:
  • State budget
  • School reopening
  • Extended learning
  • Broadband access
  • COVID-19 mitigation practices
  • Board meeting management and community engagement
  • Summer programs
  • Crisis communication strategies
• Informed membership of major developments affecting public schools
  through four issues of California Schools magazine; 11 newsletters; 49 weekly update eblasts; 245 Daily News Roundup eblasts; and more than 200 blog posts.

• Published a total of 125 new and updated policies, regulations, exhibits, and board bylaws in 2021. A special policy packet on independent study was released in July, in addition to quarterly packets from March, June, September, and December relating to:
  • • Preschool early childhood programs
    • Transitional kindergarten
    • Uniform complaint procedures
    • Suicide prevention
    • District police
    • Use of force
    • School resource officers
    • Hate-motivated behavior
    • Non-discrimination/harassment
    • Before- and after-school programs
    • Student board members
• Developed a Delegate Assembly Report and Resources Guide describing evidence-based best practices on key issues identified by Delegates. Topics included:
  • • Mental and social-emotional health of students and staff
    • Professional development/new hire training
    • Use of one-time funds
    • Learning recovery
    • Program delivery
    • Planning and implementation for in-person instruction.
• Produced briefs on strategies for supporting student achievement, safety, and physical and mental health, including:
  • • Challenging and Supporting English Learners in STEM Learning at a Distance
    • Supporting California Students in a Time of Crisis
    • Understanding and Addressing Disruptions to Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Asian American and Pacific Islander Students in Focus: Demographics and Enrollment Data
    • AAPI Students in Focus: Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Coordinated Policy Development Workshops for 39 LEAs to update and overhaul their policy manuals.
• Released CSBA’s first e-book available for purchase in the Amazon Kindle store, Charter Schools: A Guide for Governance Team, an update to the 2016 Charter Schools Manual that addresses changes to Education Code following passage of bills such as Assembly Bills 1505 and 1507.
• Received significant grants including:
• • • Two $150,000 grants from the Stuart Foundation to further CSBA’s work on equity issues for 2021 and 2022.
    • A donation of $100,000 for use by the California County Boards of Education for the Computer Science Education Project.
    • A $250,000 grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to help build California districts’ capacity to develop educator workforce housing.

CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance took direct action to support members on a range of important issues, including:

State Funding

• • Challenging guidance from the State Controller and the calculation of Education Revenue Augmentation Funds (ERAF) in five counties that result in a loss of education funding of approximately $1 billion dollars over a three-year period, plus untold future loss. (CSBA v. Betty Yee)
  • Participated in more than a dozen matters before superior courts in Sacramento and Los Angeles counties; the First, Second and Third Districts of the California Court of Appeals; the California Supreme Court; the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and the U.S. Supreme Court to advocate for the interests of CSBA members, saving millions of dollars in school funding for school districts and county offices of education
  • Supported the interests of LEAs by filing amicus briefs and letters and engaging in lawsuits as a party to the litigation in matters throughout California. These cases address myriad issues affecting CSBA’s members, including:
    • Protecting confidential privileged communications from discovery in litigation. (Los Angeles Unified School District, et al. v. Los Angeles County Superior Court)
    • Fighting Commission on State Mandates decisions that would permit the state to retroactively eliminate outstanding reimbursement obligations due to school districts for existing unfunded mandate claims (San Diego Unified School District, et al. v. State of California) and that would expand the scope of what it means for school districts and other local agencies to have discretion to participate in programs to a level the would prevent reimbursement even when they are practically compelled to participate in new programs and higher level of services as a condition of receiving state funding. (Coast Community College District, et al. v. Commission on State Mandates, et al.)
    • Arguing against the notion that a procedural violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) equates to a denial of free appropriate public education (FAPE) if it does not necessarily result in the denial of an educational benefit or opportunity for the student. (O. v. Escondido Union School District)
    • Defending districts from expanded tort liability for disability claims under the Unruh Act, which applies only to “business establishments” in California. (Brennon B. v. West Contra Costa Unified School District)
    • Advocating for a school district’s right to uphold the First Amendment principle of separation between church and state through the establishment of reasonable restrictions on speech directed at students within the school context, and enforcement of school board policies without fear of violating a person’s constitutional rights. (Kennedy v. Bremerton School District)
    • Seeking clarity on whether and when lease-leaseback agreements are contracts subject to validation and, consequently, when taxpayers can challenge the validity of those agreements. (Davis v. Fresno Unified School District (Davis II))
    • Defending district calculations of a charter school’s pro-rata portion of facility costs under Proposition 39. ( Diablo Unified School District v. Clayton Valley Charter High School, et al.)
    • Arguing against restrictions on school districts’ authority to assess developer fees beyond those restrictions contemplated in legislation. (CP V Walnut v. Fremont Unified School District)
    • Highlighting issues associated with potential enjoinder of independent study under Assembly Bill 130 and returning to the 2020–21 distance learning model in the middle of the school year. (E.E., et al. v. State of California)
  • Authored numerous articles on pressing legal topics in CSBA periodicals, including:
    • Litigation and school districts: Providing FAPE amid the COVID-19 pandemic 
    • New Cal/OSHA emergency COVID-19 regulations create additional requirements
    • Guide to Reporting Gifts, Honoraria and Travel Payments and updated the guidance
    • COVID-19 vaccines for students 
    • Ninth Circuit holds in favor of school district in First Amendment case 
    • What will governing board meetings look like after the pandemic? 
    • Certification of class-action status of nonclassroom-based charter schools in Reyes v. State of California
    • LEAs should continue to use CDPH’s graduation ceremony guidance
    • S. Supreme Court affirms school violated student’s First Amendment rights, but allows schools to regulate off-campus speech under certain circumstances 
    • Independent study provisions for the 2021–22 school year 
    • Ninth Circuit upholds closure of public schools during pandemic, but finds state infringed on rights of private school students 
    • “Meeting” under the Brown Act 
    • Governor signs AB 361 allowing for virtual board meetings 
    • S. Department of Education clarifies Title IX enforcement 
    • Q&A: An in-depth look at AB 361 and virtual board meetings 
    • S. Supreme Court to rule on case regarding censure of elected board members 
    • Authorizing school districts reach repayment settlement in charter school fraud case 
    • Gavin Newsom issues executive order setting expiration dates for previous COVID-19-related executive order provisions 
    • Assembly Bill 130 allocates funding for special education disputes 
    • AB 1316 would make sweeping changes to charter school oversight requirements 
    • Pros and cons of Project Labor Agreements 
  • Led webinars, trainings and regional meetings that covered the following topics:
    • Masks, independent study, back-to-school safety
    • How to maintain decorum & civility in school board meetings
    • Governing in a Time of Chaos: Board Meetings in the age of COVID and CRT 
    • Mask mandates and vaccinations
    • Brown Act

District & County Office of Education Legal Services

• • • Launched a new service to provide CSBA members direct access to cost-effective legal advice from CSBA attorneys
      • CSBA attorneys began offering research assistance on local legal issues, responding to questions that require the preparation of memoranda or legal opinion, conducting discreet investigations, providing direct representation to LEAs, and evaluating discrimination, sexual harassment and conflict-of-interest claims.
    • Developed a searchable online Legal Resource Library with self-help legal updates; guidance documents and templates; and a database containing more than 5,000 collective bargaining agreements, salary schedules and MOUs to aid subscribers in their negotiations.