CSBA@CSBA_Now
Today, CSBA leaders and legislators sent an SOS to the state advocating for measures to address student achievement gaps and the related state accountability gap.
During a press conference at the State Capitol, Assemblymembers Darshana Patel (D-San Diego), Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy) and Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) alongside CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy and President Dr. Debra Schade announced the SOS for Student Achievement legislative package. The four-bill package encourages the state to create the conditions for local success by strengthening and aligning its own systems, policies, budgets, reports and support structures to help local educational agencies close achievement gaps. View bill summaries: ow.ly/b9cI50YvA6b
“Students only get one chance at school, and we have to make it count. Delivering for students requires bold leadership and a willingness to change the status quo,” Schade said. “As education leaders, we must challenge outdated practices and elevate new solutions.”
Billy noted that the bills aren’t a handful of disconnected proposals — something that has become far too normalized. “Collectively, these bills establish a unified, sustainable approach to establishing the state as true partner with local educational agencies and ensure we have a well-aligned education system,” he said.
The bill package includes AB 2225 (Patel), which would convene educators, families, researchers and policymakers to develop a comprehensive statewide plan to close achievement gaps; AB 2149 (Robert Garcia, D-San Bernardino), which would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to annually evaluate how well the state budget and its education policies align with the statewide plan; AB 2514 (Ransom), which would establish a public dashboard to track the state’s progress in implementing the achievement gap plan and to provide transparent data about whether state programs are helping improve student outcomes; and AB 2202 (Muratsuchi), which would establish a Closing the Achievement Gap Commission under the State Board of Education to monitor state programs and strengthen coordination across California’s education system.
“So often, discussion of the achievement gap focuses on the outcomes at an individual school or in a particular district without examining the underlying issues, the conditions and systems that complicate efforts to improve student outcomes,” said Patel, who serves as the Education Committee chair. “For a state like California, one that prides itself on innovation, opportunity and leadership, this is not acceptable and it is not sustainable. And that’s why we are here today. To begin the process of bringing coherence and alignment to California’s system of education governance so the state can properly support local schools and close achievement gaps.”
Ransom spoke to the need to measure progress and be transparent about results in efforts to close achievement gaps while Muratsuchi explained the importance of embedding the state’s achievement gap strategy directly into the work of state education institutions.
Hope Elementary School District Superintendent Melanie Matta was also in attendance and shared how important the state’s role is in supporting LEAs in their local work to ensure all students thrive academically and how more coherent and coordinated efforts and shared accountability are needed.
Read a full recap later this week on the CSBA blog!
The event, which kicked of #LegActionWeek, marked building momentum around CSBA’s SOS for Student Achievement: Close the State Accountability Gap campaign calling for the creation of a state-level operations and support plan to better assist LEAs in addressing this persistent issue. Learn more about the initiative and how your LEA can get involved at ow.ly/MB9150YvA6a.
