Recent News

Legislative Updates from Capitol Advisors



Analysis of Governor Newsom's 2021-22 State Budget Proposal
Analysis
Governor Releases Proposal for In-Person Instruction Grants
Proposal
Non-COVID-19 Related Education Bills Begin to Emerge

Governor Newsom just proposed an aggressive school reopening effort that will be part of his state budget proposal in January. His proposal is built upon three pillars, which are copied below.

The IQC has posted the revised draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum for its final 45-day public comment period, which concludes January 21, 2021. Open for the link to the revised draft. This draft reflects the changes adopted at the IQC’s November 18-19, 2020 meeting.


Following this 45-day public comment period, the draft will be presented to the SBE, likely at its March 2021. Meeting. Under current law, the SBE is required to take final action on the model curriculum by March 31, 2021.

Best,
Caitlin

Caitlin Jung
Legislative Counsel | Capitol Advisors Group

We will provide more detailed updates on the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) Fiscal Outlook and the revenue picture for 2020-21 and out-years, but wanted to give you the highlights of dramatically improved projections for the Proposition 98 guarantee for 2020-21:

This week’s video version of our update contains info on Wednesday's Assembly Education Committee hearing on distance learning, the newest, devious tactics by hackers posing as parents and the latest on the Prop 15 campaign. Hope you find it informative.
Open for links.

Join Lee Angela Reed, Partner Capitol Advisors and Caitlin Jung, Legislative Counsel Capitol Advisors for our webinar: Legislative and State Board Update: Recent Changes Relevant to IB Programs

Tuesday, October 13th, 4:00pm - 4:30 pm

Hosts: Lee Angela Reed, Catilin Jung and Robin Oliver
Open to register.
Zoom link will be sent after registration.

The California Department of Public Health has released the long-awaited Guidance for Small Cohorts/Groups of Children and Youth. The guidance, which is also pasted below, provides definitions, considerations for cohorts and staff, and recommendations for safety precautions.

Hopefully the publication of this document will help your discussions with
local public health officials, many of whom we understand have been waiting for its release to authorize activity on school campuses.

Let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Christina

Christina Marcellus
Legislative Advocate | Capitol Advisors Group

Earlier today Senate Bill 820, the K-12 “clean-up” budget trailer bill, was amended to include clarifications to portions of the 2020 budget package adopted in June. Some of the key provisions of SB 820 allow for increased funding based on enrollment or Average Daily Attendance (ADA) growth in 2020-21, make modifications related to Williams visits and reports by county superintendents, provide more flexible expenditure rules and expenditure timelines related to learning loss mitigation funds, create alignment among new accountability measures for the 2020-21 school year, and provide some clarifications related to distance learning videos and recordings.

This week’s video version of our update provides the latest on Federal efforts to secure more funding relief and other key issues impacting K-12. Hope you find it informative.

Open to see the online video briefing.

-Kevin

Kevin Gordon, President
Capitol Advisors Group, LLC

Kelsey Day, IB World Schools Manager for US Public Schools in California, has provided an update on IB policies and resources.

Open for full content and links.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) met late last week. While the agenda was primarily comprised of staff providing updates on various efforts and initiatives, the Commissioners started the meeting by sharing their thoughts and perspectives on the protests, activism, and conversations happening in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others.

Open to review a brief description of key items in AB 77, referred to by the Education Code Sections which are added or amended.

This week’s video version of our update contains observations about the budget battle and other key issues this week. Hope you find it informative.

Click HERE to see the online video briefing.

For more information regarding Automation or Cybersecurity Assessments, please contact Tim Watrous.

-Kevin

Kevin Gordon, President
Capitol Advisors Group, LLC

This morning, CDE released its guidance on the reopening of California’s schools, which can be found here. The 55-page document, entitled “Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California’s Public Schools,” provides schools with recommendations, essential questions to consider, and checklists in a variety of areas, including health and safety, instructional programs for special education, CTE, and English Learners, student mental health, and school services like meals and transportation.

The document does note that statutory changes would be necessary to implement much of the guidance provided, particularly with respect to alternative instructional models, and that the guidance is not restricted to only what would work within our current instructional time, attendance accounting and auditing framework.

The Superintendent will also be holding a press conference later this morning at 11:15 am to go over the guidebook and its recommendations. For those interested in attending, the press conference will be livestreamed on CDE’s Facebook page.

As always, if you have any questions please reach out to any one of us at Capitol Advisors.

Best,
Caitlin

Caitlin Jung
Legislative Counsel
Capitol Advisors Group

Message for Siva Kumari, IBO Director General
May 11, 2020