– Holly Edds ACSA President
Superintendents support LCFF in survey
Policy Analysis for California Education has announced that California ’ s superintendents overwhelmingly support the state ’ s Local Control Funding Formula and its underlying goal of promoting more equity in resources for high-needs students , according to the first comprehensive survey of how district superintendents view the five-year-old law .
In the recently-released “ Superintendents Speak : Implementing the Local Control Funding Formula ,” by the Local Control Funding Formula Research Collaborative , 94 percent of the 350 superintendents surveyed agree with the statement , “ Students with greater needs should receive additional resources .”
The LCFF is the most significant overhaul of California ’ s school finance in 40 years , allocating additional funds for English learners , foster youth , and lowincome students to improve their opportunities for success in school , college , career , and life . But there is no guarantee that the LCFF will continue after Gov . Brown terms out later this year .
Other key findings include :
• Nearly three-quarters of superintendents say that the LCFF ’ s fiscal flexibility has enabled their district to spend in ways that match local needs .
• 78 percent say the LCFF has enabled them to improve services and programs for low-income students , foster youth and English learners .
• 74 percent believe that the parent and community engagement required by the LCFF gives historically underrepresented students and families new opportunities to influence district decisions .
• 90 percent agree that districts should be allowed to use LCFF supplemental and concentration funds for other disadvantaged students who are not explicitly targeted by the policy .
“ Superintendents are critical stakeholders whose leadership is fundamental to the continuing success of the LCFF ,” said ACSA Executive Director Wes Smith . “ We believe it is imperative that our policymakers look for solutions to address the concerns highlighted in this study .”
It is clear that by allowing districts to decide where to spend the additional funds , leaders feel better able to focus their districts ’ budget priorities on improving academic outcomes for their English learners , low-income students and foster youth .
“ The superintendents ’ support for the equity goals of the LCFF are extremely encouraging ,” said study co-author Julie Marsh , associate professor at USC ’ s Rossier School of Education . “ Yet the results also indicate there is still work to be done to fully achieve these equity goals .”
The full report is at http :// bit . ly / 2MYLtT3 .
CTC tackles numerous credentialing issues
ACSA CTC Liaison Doug Gephart filed the following report on the June meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing .
Teaching Performance Expectations
and Program Standards
The CTC adopted a revised credential structure for Education Specialist teaching credentials and organized them into five preliminary teaching credentials :
• Mild to Moderate Support Needs will now be called Exceptional Support Needs .
• Significant Support Needs will now be called Extensive Support Needs .
• Visual Impairments ’ name remains the same .
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing ’ s name remains the same .
• Early Childhood Special Education ’ s name remains the same .
This adoption lays the foundation for the significant work that has occurred by expert work groups to redesign the Education Specialist Teaching Performance Expectations ( TPEs ) and a set of Education Specialist Program Standards for the initial teaching credentials .
Currently , Commission policy supports the concept of a common trunk of preparation that would require all teacher candidates to meet the general education TPEs . Education Specialist candidates must also demonstrate candidate competence in their specific teaching performance expectations .
• Modification to Mild Moderate Support Needs credentials :
All new Education Specialist credentials must be identifiable as distinct and separate from existing credentials , which is why staff proposed a different label for the Mild to Moderate Support Needs credential .
• Extensive Support Needs Teaching Performance Expectations :
Teaching performance expectations were developed to address essential knowledge ,
ACSA and many other groups – both education and business – are opposing some bills in the Legislature dealing with extending the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse .
Certainly , ACSA and these groups want to protect children . The problem these bills attempt to address is that sometimes it can take years before someone who suffered sexual abuse as a child to be able to come forward with an accusation . However , these bills propose extending the statute of limitation by decades . That places LEAs and business groups in an untenable position for insurance purposes .
AB 3120 , Gonzales Fletcher , proposes to extend the statute of limitation from the current 22 years after the plaintiff attains majority ( 18 years old ) to 40 years past that . skills and abilities necessary for a teacher to meet the needs of students .
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing ( DHH ) Teaching Performance Expectations :
The DHH credential represents a birth through age 22 authorization . Several of the approved DHH educator preparation programs require their candidates to also have a general education credential prior to enrolling into a DHH credential program .
• Visual Impairments Teaching Performance Expectations :
The credential would not require any subject matter authorization as the draft set of TPEs include the requirement that candidates be able to demonstrate competency in both the Preschool Learning Foundations and the Kindergarten frameworks .
• Education Specialist requirements :
The content knowledge required of special education candidates has varied over time in accordance with the credential structure , authorization statements , and student ages / grades served by holders of the credential . Prospective special education teacher candidates will have the choice , regardless of the option selected by the CTC , of completing a Commissionapproved subject matter program or passing the appropriate CSET examination in order to meet the applicable content area knowledge requirement .
CTC approved the recommendation to maintain the current content knowledge requirements .
A prospective special education teacher could satisfy the same content knowledge requirement as a multiple subject candidate or a single subject candidate in any one of the following content areas : English , Mathematics , Science , Social Studies , Art , Music and World Languages . CTC staff will begin the regulatory process to implement the revised authorizations for teachers prepared in the future . As part of the regulatory process , specific dates will be identified when candidates completing an Education
Basically , extending the date that long places school districts in an untenable position for obtaining insurance . Most insurance companies would likely refuse to include this as a coverable item . Coming at a time when LEAs are already being hardhit by the Legislature ’ s having imposed the lion ’ s share of increased contributions to CalSTRS and CalPERS due to their potential shortfalls , it would create a situation of severe financial difficulty for districts .
AB 3120 would also make it increasingly unlikely a district would be able to defend itself against any accusations due to turnover of staff and increasing scarcity of witnesses .
Another bill ACSA and numerous groups are opposing is SB 1300 , Jackson . This bill significantly lowers the standard
Specialist teacher preparation program will earn the revised Education Specialist authorization .
Preliminary ASC program standards
Current program standards for the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential were adopted prior to the development of a California Administrator Performance Assessment scheduled to be implemented statewide beginning in fall 2018 . The timing prompted the need to amend the program standards to address program responsibilities for the implementation and administration of the CalAPA .
• Issue 1 : Use of the Term “ Placement ” Administrative services credential programs ’ fieldwork is generally much different than teaching credential programs as candidates are typically already employed . Emphasis of standard language focuses less on “ placement ” and more on a candidates ’ fieldwork experiences . Consequently , CTC replaced the reference to “ placed ” with “ completing fieldwork requirements .”
• Issue 2 : The wide range of school contexts in which candidates are completing their fieldwork may result in significant differences in CalAPA submissions .
CTC staff will make certain CalAPA assessors have extensive training to ensure candidates are provided full credit for completion of fieldwork within a wide variety of locations and resources .
• Issue 3 : Concerns about the feasibility of video recording during the performance cycles .
Video recording of candidates interacting with participants raises questions of sensitivity during some portions of the performance cycle . The CTC is reviewing the feasibility of using audio recordings as an alternative whenever sensitive circumstances would prevent a video recording .
See CTC , page 5
Extending statute of limitations on abuse bills could create financial jeopardy for K-12
for proving harassment or discrimination . The current standard is that such a charge must be “ severe or pervasive ” to be actionable . But SB 1300 would change that to be such a charge is actionable if it would meet those standards if it increased in severity or became pervasive . Under that standard almost anything could be actionable if it increased in severity or became pervasive .
ACSA is also joining numerous other groups in opposition to SB 1053 , Beall . This bill is attempting to overturn a Superior Court ruling that allowed a public entity such as a school district an opportunity to remedy a claim before going to court or to conduct a timely investigation .
ACSA will continue to keep members apprised as developments occur .
July 16 , 2018 EDCAL 3
For the past six years , I have had the honor of serving on the ACSA Board of Directors and have truly enjoyed time spent supporting our members as they support our students each and every day in classrooms , schools , districts and county offices across our state .
As we embark on a new school year , ACSA continues to keep students as its north star . In just a few days , your ACSA Board of Directors will consider adopting a new Strategic Plan , one that was written collaboratively by our members , involving leaders at every level of the organization . This new Strategic Plan will set the course for the next five years of ACSA , and will continue to build on the tremendous accomplishments achieved during our previous Strategic Plan . This new Strategic Plan contains Impact Statements which frame the purpose of our work .
Because of the efforts of ACSA :
• The Professional community of educational leaders remains at the forefront of innovative educational practice and is sought after by state and federal policymakers and other stakeholders for expertise in creating an equitable , world-class education system .
• Administrators are empowered to lead the charge for and deliver a quality public school education for all students .
• Students have the academic , physical , and social-emotional support they need to be successful in college , career , and life .
• All schools are committed to meeting the unique needs of their learning communities and have the resources to do so .
• Families and communities gain important allies in the health and wellbeing of their children and in the development of an educated society .
• Business and industry benefit from a fully prepared workforce .
• Stakeholders understand and are committed to the positive outcomes of an education system based on equity and excellence .
These Impact Statements are something I believe we can all support . Our students deserve the very best and our members dedicate their time and resources to achieving each one of those statements . As I have spent the past few weeks visiting region leadership retreats , a common theme emerged : our members care deeply about the work they do . I have had the opportunity to share my story , how ACSA has shaped me personally and professionally . ACSA has transformed me into the leader I am today , and I know it has done the same for many of you . As an organization and as educational leaders , we create magic – that ’ s what we do .
We create schools where all children can learn and have a place . We create learning environments where adults can create networks of support , a family if you will . We are bold and authoritative in our advocacy on behalf of our students , our future . We are there , celebrating with each other , standing alongside each other , lifting each other up in times of need . We create magic every day statewide and nationwide . Thank you for creating magic !
– Holly Edds ACSA President