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On October 13, charter school administrators and authorizers received the California Department of Education’s...

October 13, 2022

Charter schools have a particular interest in this Friday’s deadline to upload local indicator data to the California School Dashboard. Missing the deadline for two consecutive years is one of the ways that Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are identified as “eligible for differentiated assistance,” part of the state’s school accountability framework. Charter schools identified as “eligible for differentiated assistance” cannot renew using the most advantageous of the four sets of charter renewal standards: the “safe” renewal track that minimizes burden and risk and allows a renewal term of five to seven years.

September 28, 2022

Academic performance is at the center of most charter renewals, yet charter schools and authorizers often lack clarity as to how to evaluate student performance, particularly student...

September 22, 2022

The Legislature approved AB 185 yesterday, a “clean-up” bill that makes numerous changes to the state’s 2022-23 budget and the education finance trailer bills. The 194-page measure is long on words, but relatively short on substance, especially in comparison to last year’s extensive clean-up bill. It boosts LCFF funding a bit further, partially clarifies some key terms, and includes myriad other tweaks. We presume the bill reflects a negotiated consensus with the Governor and that he will sign it into law soon.

September 01, 2022

In the early hours of Thursday morning, legislators left the building after a final legislative recess leaving nearly 800 bills for Governor Newsom to sign or veto before September 30. If the governor chooses not to act on these bills, they will become law without his signature. The legislative session adjourns for the year on November 30, and the new legislators elected for the 2023-24 session will be sworn in on December 5, 2022.  

September 01, 2022

Legislative leadership posted a counter to Governor Newsom’s May Revise budget proposals last week, calling for higher general-purpose funding increases, reduced “hold harmless” funding protections for charter schools, and a large new transportation funding program, among other differences. At the time this article was drafted, only high-level details were available and detailed legislation to implement the Legislature’s proposals was not yet in print.

June 06, 2022

Governor Newsom this morning released summary highlights of his May Revise updates to his 2022-23 state budget, calling for a litany of massive education funding increases, targeting much of the increased education spending for one-time augmentations. The May Revise calls for protecting schools from attendance-related funding losses, but snubs nonclassroom-based charter schools while also calling for massive one-time augmentations to several new and existing initiatives.

May 13, 2022

The Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS) voted 6-1 today to provide 100 percent funding to a charter school that missed the usual regulatory expenditure tests to qualify for full funding. The ACCS voted in spite of the California Department of Education (CDE) staff’s proposal to cut the school’s funding by 30 percent for two years, citing their large reserves.

April 11, 2022

Starting in 2022, the California School Dashboard will apply a much more punitive penalty when schools and their student groups do not meet 95 percent participation on California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) tests in English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA) and Mathematics. The new penalty could present unexpected risks to charter renewal, even for schools that have not had challenges in the past. For some schools, penalties may create a concerning Dashboard and, worse, may even result in placement on a lower renewal “track.” This article describes the new penalty, how it connects to charter renewal, and suggestions to reduce risk.

March 22, 2022

At its March meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) will discuss possible actions related to “modified” measures on the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) for Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools. On recent Dashboards, to better align to the nature of DASS school programs, the California Department of Education (CDE) published...

March 03, 2022

Governor Newsom and California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced today that after March 11, masks will no longer be required in California schools, but will be “strongly recommended.” The announcement follows the state’s February 14 shift away from masking mandates for most public settings; the same day Ghaly promised he would issue updated school-specific guidance on February 28.

February 28, 2022

California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced today that California will continue its current school masking mandate, will reassess the mandate on February 28, and hinted that lifting the mandate is likely if current data trends hold. The announcement came as the state is removing its general masking mandate for public settings, shifting from a mandatory masking to an official “strongly recommended” stance after February 15 for most public settings. Masking mandates will remain in place after February 15 for schools, childcare, health care, long-term care, and corrections facilities.

February 14, 2022

Governor Newsom’s staff posted 103 pages of draft K-12 education budget “trailer” legislation this week, fleshing out some key details of his proposed 2022-23 state budget. The trailer bill includes several remarkable twists, especially related to independent study and delaying a mandate to offer expanded learning. CSDC addressed most of the governor’s proposals during our recent webinar, while this article summarizes and explains the key new items of interest to charter schools revealed in the trailer bill.

February 04, 2022

The California Senate yesterday passed SB 579 (Allen, D-Santa Monica), a bill to provide “hold harmless” funding protections for schools during the current and upcoming school year. This bill is one of several pending proposals to address Pandemic-driven enrollment and attendance declines.

January 27, 2022

To help California schools cope with unprecedented staffing shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic, on January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-3-22 to provide temporary staffing flexibility to impacted schools. The Order widens eligibility to perform substitute teacher services. The Order also addresses two potential barriers to some retired educators returning to work.

January 25, 2022

Governor Newsom outlined his proposed 2022-23 state budget this morning during a lengthy press conference, including a large cost-of-living adjustment and continued implementation of massive K-12 program expansions; he also issued a vague call for protecting charter schools from pandemic-driven enrollment and attendance declines. 

January 10, 2022