Category: Advocacy

Governor’s Administration releases 2025–26 education budget trailer bill language

In keeping with the requirements of statute, the Governor’s Department of Finance released their budget trailer bills. Providing greater clarity on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January Budget Proposal, the trailer bills provide the details where specific statutory amendments are proposed on how specific programs and proposals are intended to operate. As part of that release, the education trailer bill helps to shed light on significant proposals made last month.

Governor and Legislature agree to budget deal

On June 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State Legislature announced an agreement on the state budget that largely reflected the budget proposal adopted by the Legislature earlier this month — but with some important modifications that pose concern for local educational agencies. The inclusion of provisions that were not present or disclosed in earlier summaries reinforced the wisdom of CSBA’s decision to avoid a full endorsement of any budget deals before the exact language of the terms was available.

May Revise webinar breaks down budget proposals and their implications for LEAs

Experts from the California School Boards Association, Children Now and the education law firm Dannis Woliver Kelley dissected the Governor’s May Revision budget proposals during a May 15 webinar, “May Revise: Prop 98 under siege.”  As expected, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to double down on […]

CSBA submits response to Governor’s proposed budget, Prop 98 concerns

Over the past five months, the financial challenges facing the state have become clearer. In December 2023, the  non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) announced that the state budget was facing a deficit of $68 billion. However, in January, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a revised budget […]

CSBA seeks fixes to address persistent problems encountered by local charter school authorizers

By CSBA Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado Recent developments at the state and local levels have highlighted a few troubling deficiencies in current law related to the charter school authorization process. These issues exacerbate the difficulties that both school districts and county boards of education experience […]

President’s message: Advocating at the state and federal level to improve California public education

By CSBA President Albert Gonzalez Serving as a board of education member is a process of constant learning. Even in my 16 years as a trustee, I am still refining my practice and expanding the toolkit I use in this job. One area where I’ve […]