News

This year’s legislative session has been nothing if not unusual, with final agreement on the budget not reached until weeks after the June 15th deadline and budget clean-up language not in print until the final week of session. The last night of the legislative session on September 10 was no different. Usually chock full of rule waivers and inter-house delay tactics that push the Legislature into the late, late hours of the night (and sometimes the early hours of the next morning), this year saw very few surprises and had both houses adjourning around 9 pm, their earliest adjournment in recent memory. Open for details……..

Last Friday's video update provides the latest on the "four-ring" circus in Washington DC and also revisits the requirements for Independent Study and the interaction with quarantines and staffing challenges as amended by the Legislature on their last day of the year, Friday. We also talk about the ongoing opportunities for tech funding through the FCC and our conversation with FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. Good stuff.

Here is Friday's video update which includes the return of our special guest Governor Bob Wise who visits with us about the latest in Washington DC. We also cover the new Mask mandate as it relates to the new Independent Study requirements and discuss the Governor’s signing of SB 156, the $6 Billion investment in broadband access. Lastly, we touch on the State Board of Education’s action to approve the State’s plan for the American Rescue Plan Act and the deadline for local LEA plans later this Fall.

As you begin your much deserved summer break, please remember that your school UC A-G list needs to be reviewed and updated for the 2021-2022 school year. This includes your IB Program course offerings. The official deadline is September 15 but it is recommended that schools complete any updates by early August to avoid any last minute problems or changes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended masking indoors for all K-12 school teachers, staff, and students.

As COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates skyrocket across the nation - the federal agency’s guidance is again changing, just weeks before school starts in most places (recognizing it has already started in some areas).

Largely due to the tremendous local efforts to feed communities during the pandemic, there has been a great deal of attention given to child nutrition programs and a push by the Legislature to launch universal school meals in California.

The long-awaited TK-Grade 12 Education Budget Trailer Bill was released today, providing needed details in several key areas. The bill (AB/SB 130) is an abrupt holiday weekend stopper, weighing in at 398 pages.

Spring greetings to DP coordinators, school administrators and counselors!

The UC A-G Course Management Portal is now open for the 2021-2022 school year.

CAWS strongly recommends all DP schools begin the process of updating their A-G lists early to ensure you have plenty of time to update your A-G list before the UC admissions application opens on August 1. This should include a review of your IB courses, and IB program 9-12 course sequences. It is vital that your diploma program pathways for students align with UC A-G requirements.

CalOSHA Adopts Revised COVID-19 Workplace Regulations andVideo Update - Budget, Politics and Technology, June 17, 2021.

BIG news this week on the May Revision, which has so many moving parts we are really going to need those budget workshops to dive into all of this. For the moment, this weekly update touches on the big dollar items and some of the politics. Tim raises the $7 Billion + opportunity just approved by the FCC for distribution of funding that has a crazy short window for getting your share of the money. Next week we will get more into that issue too. Hope you enjoy what we’ve got for you this week. Open for video briefing.

Actions at the May State Board of Education (SBE) meeting mirrored efforts across the state to make a path back to normalcy – a mix of measures to move us forward from the pandemic and prepare for any similar situations (pandemics, natural disasters, locusts) in the future as well as to restart work that was placed on hold when the pandemic hit.

Leading this week's video update is a snapshot of the President's expansive plan that impacts early education through higher education and family initiatives. We also hear about a couple of important bills, the digital chip shortage and the latest revenue numbers. Hope you find it informative.

Continue for details and links.

Another interesting week for the political and tech issues impacting K-12. Tim and I cover some good stuff with our regular guest Governor Bob Wise. We are also joined by special guest, Blake Heller, of the Digital Advisors team who is Harvard’s gift to our discussion connecting the importance of data, “evidence-based” practices and the imperative for learning recovery efforts in districts. Enjoy this update and have a good weekend!

Video Update - Budget, Politics and Technology, March 28, 2021,

This week Jack O’Connell joined Tim to discuss new budget numbers, Governor Newsom nominating a new Attorney General and some insight into a new federal infrastructure bill in the works. Tim talks about US ED Data showing inequity in returning to school, cybersecurity and highlights some great resources provided by the FBI to help teachers and students learn safe online surfing. Hope you enjoy!!


Click HERE to see the online video briefing.


Articles discussed this week:
• New US Ed Data Shows Inequity in Returning to School
• FCC Says ISP’s are Eagerly Pursuing Broadband Subsidy
• FBI Issues New Cybersecurity Warnings
• FBI Recognizes South Dakota
• FBI Safe Online Surfing
• Mississippi Stepping Up the Digital Divide


-Kevin

Kevin Gordon, President
Capitol Advisors Group, LLC

Over the past two weeks, policy committee activity in both houses of the Legislature has ramped up, with committees working in earnest to deal with the hundreds of bills introduced this year. The Senate Education Committee has now held three bill hearings, and the Assembly Education Committee joined them this week, holding its first bill hearing of 2021.

In addition to a full list of actions taken by the Education Committees (included below), we want to highlight some key pieces of legislation we think will be of particular interest to education stakeholders and school leaders.