The October newsletter includes a breakdown of the final wave of education bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom — including four CSBA-sponsored bills that, together, will give local educational agencies additional tools, flexibility and state-level support they need to serve students effectively while eliminating unnecessary administrative obstacles. This issue also spotlights new research on youth experiencing homelessness and recaps the most recent State Board of Education and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing meetings, a recent court ruling in the ongoing battle over the rights of transgender students in schools and a CSBA webinar on the role of superintendent-principals. Find these articles and more: publications.csba.org/califo…

Amid a harsh fiscal landscape, a new report by @NCTQ asserts that states should support local educational agencies to use dollars in ways that attract and retain good teachers in the schools and subjects most in need and where attrition is most significant. Learn more: blog.csba.org/teacher-pay-2/

This week, CSBA President Dr. Debra Schade visited Napa Valley USD and spoke with local leaders and students about literacy and dual language pathways, nutrition and student wellness and programs providing future-ready skills and career technical education. Another terrific tour!

The National Endowment for Financial Education gave California an F grade in its 2026 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools, but projects the state could earn an A grade by 2031. Details: blog.csba.org/personal-finan…

Considering internationally comparable data, 9.1 percent of primary and secondary teachers in the dozens of countries tracked by @OECD were not fully qualified in 2024–25, according to its Education at a Glance 2026 report. The publication covers the state of education worldwide with a focus this year on teacher shortages and their impact as well as how the issue can be addressed. Learn about other findings: blog.csba.org/ed-at-glance26…

On Oct. 14, CSBA honored Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno) with the Special Recognition Award for her efforts with AB 1111. The bill, which represents a CSBA priority, sought to provide more flexibility to those local educational agencies that are already struggling with a forthcoming requirement to transition to zero-emission school buses — a significant challenge for districts across the state. CSBA thanks Soria for her and her staff’s pioneering work on the issue!

CSBA President Dr. Debra Schade took a tour of the 200-student Warner USD on Oct. 13 to learn more about how the small, rural district provides students opportunities to thrive through its various arts, agriculture and career technical education programming and boosts engagement with the help of its tribal and county partnerships despite the infrastructural challenges it faces in terms of transportation, the ability to provide safe drinking water and more. “Warner Unified may be small in enrollment, but its commitment to students and the strength of its community are substantial,” Schade said while reflecting on the visit. “The visit reinforced the importance of recognizing the unique needs of rural districts and ensuring that every student, regardless of background or ZIP code, has access to meaningful educational opportunities and a promising future.”

Common Sense Media has released a collection of free resources to support families, teachers and district leaders to support thoughtful, developmentally appropriate decisions about technology use in the classroom. Details: blog.csba.org/tech-in-school…

In response to the Oct. 15 release of California’s 2026 student assessment results, CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy issued a statement calling for reciprocal accountability in improving student outcomes. Read it in full here: ow.ly/c4ws50ZYwFT

As #HispanicHeritageMonth comes to an end, the latest CSBA blog post is recognizing the 80-year anniversary of landmark California desegregation case Mendez v. Westminster and how its legacy lives on today. Read it now: ow.ly/rUgi50ZY6ov

The start to the 2026–27 school year in Larkspur-Corte Madera SD looked a bit different than prior years. The first two weeks were device free in the K-8 district, which serves about 1,200 students in the Bay Area. Each grade level received six lessons focused on digital citizenship and wellness created by Common Sense Media. Educators focused on creating a positive classroom climate and culture, setting expectations for technology use and how to work and engage with one another. The response from students, parents and staff was “overwhelmingly positive,” said Superintendent Brett Geithman. Learn more: blog.csba.org/larkspur-corte…

New research from @ctschoolsucla documents persistent disparities in academic achievement, graduation, attendance and school discipline, as well as substantial racial and geographic disparities among children who experience homelessness. Learn more: blog.csba.org/achievement-ga…

LegislatED is wrapping up for the year with a recap of four CSBA-sponsored bills that were signed by the Governor and how they intend to positively impact the TK-12 landscape. Thank you to Assemblymembers Darshana Patel, Avelino Valencia and José Luis Solache, Jr., for authoring this important legislation. Learn more about the bills and the fate of other significant education-related measures: blog.csba.org/2026-signed-bi…

Last month, @SchoolHouseConn hosted a webinar — “Showing Up, Staying Connected: Family Engagement Strategies to Support Student Attendance” — offering practical strategies for building relationships with families and reducing attendance barriers. Find a recap on the CSBA blog: blog.csba.org/family-engagem…

CSBA President Dr. Debra Schade recently visited Region 2 where she met with trustees and toured Enterprise ESD, Redding ESD, Shasta Union HSD and Shasta COE sites, learning about offerings from throughout the region spanning the performing arts, career technical education, innovative programs for special education students, elementary STEM exploration and more. She said that her experiences underscored the importance of listening to local voices to understand the successes and challenges happening in the state’s varying communities and was a reminder of the tremendous creativity and commitment that exists in California public schools.

There were minimal changes in the rates of 12th graders who enrolled in college immediately after graduation (the following fall) between 2024 and 2025, according to the @NSClearinghouse's 14th annual High School Benchmarks report. Learn more about the postsecondary journeys of recent high school grads: blog.csba.org/benchmarks26/

CSBA’s Research and Educational Policy Development Department is collecting superintendent evaluation templates from districts statewide to inform updated guidance for governance teams. If your board has an evaluation tool or process it’s willing to share, board presidents and superintendents are invited to submit it via email as an attachment to [email protected] by Oct. 16.

A recent research paper by @NDCresearch, a CSBA Business Affiliate, outlines best practices for closing schools in response to factors like declining enrollment, underused facilities, staffing challenges, aging campuses and tight budgets. Learn more: blog.csba.org/school-closure…