February 25, 2019
AG issues alert to schools on obligations
to protect the civil rights of all students
California Attorney General Xavier
Becerra sent a letter to schools throughout
the state to remind them of their legal obli-
gations under California law to protect the
civil rights of all students.
The letter follows the U.S. Departments
of Education and Justice rescinding critical
portions of the School Discipline Guidance
Package (2014 Guidance) previously issued
by the same federal agencies in 2014.
The 2014 Guidance provides valuable
tools and information to California school
administrators on how to achieve an equi-
table and safe classroom environment, with-
out visiting unfair and unnecessary harm
on students through the use of suspensions
and expulsions as the primary form of dis-
cipline in schools. Although key portions of
the federal 2014 Guidance were rescinded
by the U.S. Departments of Education
and Justice, the California Department of
Justice reminds schools of their obligation
to follow California law, which is consistent
with the 2014 Guidance.
“If we are not vigilant in how we admin-
ister discipline in our schools, we run the
risk of extinguishing the promise of the
American dream for millions of California
students,” Becerra said. “While the Trump
Administration turns its back on the goals
that so many civil rights leaders fought for,
we in California are redoubling our efforts
and continue to vigorously fight for their
fulfillment.”
Policies to protect the civil rights of
students are critical in the face of reports
indicating that implicit bias among school
administrators leads to students of color,
boys, and those with disabilities being dis-
proportionately subjected to disciplinary
action. In California, African American
students are suspended at three times the
rate of White students, and they lose nearly
four times the number of days of instruc-
tion to suspensions and expulsions as White
students. The 2014 Guidance was originally
put in place to protect students against these
very issues, and its alternative methods for
creating safe schools remain of vital impor-
tance.
The California Department of Justice is
committed to protecting the rights of each
and every student in California, and will
use all the tools at its disposal to help create
safe and healthy learning environments in
classrooms throughout the state.
Becerra led a multistate letter last
year expressing concern over the Trump
Administration’s indication that it would
rescind key portions of the 2014 Guidance,
a step the Trump Administration ultimately
took in December 2018.
Becerra encourages those with infor-
mation regarding suspected practices in
violation of state or federal law in schools
to report them to the Bureau of Children’s
Justice in the California Department of
Justice Civil Rights Enforcement Section,
through the online complaint form located
at https://oag.ca.gov/bcj/complaint, or by
email at [email protected].
CDE announces applications for summer meal programs
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tony Thurmond has announced that appli-
cations are available for the Summer Food
Service Program and Seamless Summer
Option, both federally funded, state-admin-
istered programs that serve free meals to
children 18 and younger when school is out
of session.
“Food insecurity impacts families
throughout the state. When schools are
out of session, our most economically dis-
advantaged students are not only missing
academic instruction, they are also missing
meals,” Thurmond said. “Access to nutri-
tious and healthy food during the summer
months helps students return to school
ready to engage and ready to learn.”
According to the California Association of Food Banks, 85 percent of children who
benefit from the federally funded free or
reduced-price lunches during the school
year miss similar lunch programs available
during the summer. Every summer, 17 of 20
low-income students fall into the summer
nutrition gap.
“Last year, the Summer Meals Program
served over 15 million meals,” Thurmond
said. “That would not have been possible
if we didn’t have organizations willing to
participate and help spread the word about
the program within the communities they
serve.”
Summer meal sites are located in commu-
nities where at least 50 percent of the chil-
dren quality for free or reduced-price school
meals. All meals meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition requirements, and
no paperwork or personal information is
required for children to participate.
Organizations eligible to participate in
Summer Meal Programs include schools,
camps, nonprofits, tribal governments, and
government agencies. Applications are due
by June 1, 2019.
For more information about Summer
Meal Programs, visit the California
Department of Education Summer Meal
Programs web page at https://www.cde.
ca.gov/ls/nu/sf/index.asp. You can locate
meal sites on the Summer Meal Service
Site web page at www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/
summersites.asp.
MODEL state’s 435 continuation high schools during
the 2017-18 school year.
The 31 schools selected as Model
Continuation High Schools retain their
designation for three years and will be recog-
nized at the 2019 CCEA State Conference
in Fresno on April 26-28. For more infor-
mation, please visit the CDE Continuation
Education webpage or the CCEA website. Katherine Wallace, Principal.
16. Mount Toro High School, Salinas,
Gloria Chaidez, Principal.
17. Nueva Vista Continuation High
School, Jurupa Valley, Michael Rogers,
Principal.
18.
Pacific Career & Technology
High School, North Highlands, Darryl
Hawthrone, Principal.
19. Pacific High School, Ventura, Deidre
Monarres, Principal.
20.
Paloma Creek High School,
Atascadero, Chris Balogh, Principal.
21. R. K. Lloyde High School, Lawndale,
Ben Wardrop, Principal.
22. Patricia Dreizler Continuation High
School, Redondo Beach, Anthony Bridi,
Principal.
23. Renaissance Continuation High
School, La Selva Beach, Dana Richards,
Principal.
24. Ruben Salazar High School, Gabriel
Gonzalez, Principal.
25. Serra High School, San Juan
Capistrano, Meg Ervais, Principal.
26. Sierra Vista High School, Dinuba,
Suzanne Rodriguez, Principal.
27. Somerset High School, Bellflower,
Mark Kailiponi, Principal.
28. Tierra Del Sol Continuation High
School, Bakersfield, Chris Dutton, Principal.
29.
Tracy (Wilbur) High School,
Cerritos, Ricardo Brown, Principal.
30. Valley Alternative Schools, Hacienda
Heights, Joaquin Martinez, Principal.
31. Vista Continuation High School,
Bakersfield, Tracey Lozano, Principal.
Continued from page 1
School in Lindsay uses personalized learn-
ing plans and learning projects that focus
on the academic and behavioral growth of
its students. The school did not have any
dropouts during the 2017-18 school year,
which is unprecedented for a continuation
high school.
• Maple High School in Lompoc has
an expansive Career Technical Education
program that introduces students to vari-
ous career options after high school. The
school has also established a relationship
with a local college, where students have
the opportunity to take college-level courses
and get a jump start on their higher educa-
tion.
Continuation schools provide a high
school diploma program for students ages
16 through 18 who have not graduated
from high school, are required to attend
school, and are at risk of not completing
their education.
The schools were selected based on a
comprehensive and competitive application
process that involved effectiveness, assess-
ments, and use of data. The process includ-
ed a peer review panel and on-site visit.
The Model Continuation High Schools
Recognition Program is a joint project of
the California Department of Education
and the California Continuation Education
Association (CCEA). The program honors
continuation high schools for the compre-
hensive services they provide at-risk youth
through instructional strategies, flexible
scheduling, guidance and counseling.
More than 51,000 students attended the
2019 Model
Schools
Continuation
High
1. Alta Vista High School, Mountain
View, Bill Pierce, Principal.
2. Brea Canyon High School, Brea, Eric
Barrientos, Principal.
3. Calaveras Hills High School, Milpitas,
Carl Stice, Principal.
4. Columbus High School, Downey,
Anthony Zegarra, Principal.
5. Conejo Valley High School, Thousand
Oaks, Martin Manzer, Principal.
6. John H. Milor Continuation High
School, Rialto, Andres Luna, Principal.
7. El Camino High School, Whittier,
Ryan Cummins, Director.
8. Hare (Marie L.) High School, Garden
Grove, Stephanie Heflin, Principal.
9. John J. Cairns Continuation High
School, Lindsay, Dennis Doane, Principal.
10. Kings Canyon High School, Dinuba,
Ron Pack, Principal.
11. Kings River High School, Sanger,
Rick Church, Principal.
12. La Paloma High School, Brentwood,
Chris Holland, Principal.
13. Lee V. Pollard High School, Corona,
Michael Ridgway, Principal.
14. Lovell High School, Cutler, Robert
Gonzales, Principal.
15. Maple High School, Lompoc,
resources and more at
www.acsa.org
EDCAL 3
FROM THE
Executive
Director
In post-Janus California,
and with an economic
downturn in the forecast, labor activ-
ity is extremely high. These and other
activities can be very taxing for our
school communities and the educa-
tional leaders who serve them.
Riverbank USD Superintendent Darryl
Camp, once said, “If you are in ACSA,
you are never alone.” During these
challenging times, we want you to
know that you are not alone; ACSA is
here to serve and support you, your
students and your communities.
ACSA works with management and
labor partners to support the California
Labor Management Initiative that
works to build true collaboration
between labor and management.
Resources and information on upcom-
ing trainings and institutes can be
found at cdefoundation.org.
ACSA committed years ago to provid-
ing free mentors for members who are
new leaders or new to a position. We
assign mentors based on the leader’s
job-alike and demographic interests.
Contact Member Services at member-
[email protected] if you are interested
in having an experienced ACSA mentor
support you as you serve California’s
students.
Recently ACSA launched the Targeted
Assistance Consulting program to offer
direct support to superintendents.
Our Targeted Assistance team sup-
ports negotiations (including preparing,
communicating, mentoring, and even
negotiating on the district’s behalf) and
effective governance. Please contact
Trudy Arriaga at [email protected] or
Frank Adelman at [email protected]
if you need support in either or both of
these areas.
One of the ways ACSA has increased
service to our members in recent
years is to provide assistance to dis-
trict leaders who are experiencing
crises – natural or school violence – in
the area of crisis communications.
Oftentimes, when a crisis hits, superin-
tendents and district leaders are deal-
ing with myriad challenges, all while
trying to maintain a line of clear com-
munication to parents and the com-
munity. Naturally, school leaders place
the highest priority on helping students
through the crisis, so we are glad to
offer any assistance ACSA can give to
help with communicating to parents
and community, to help you work
through unusually challenging situa-
tions. Contact Naj Alikhan at nalikhan@
acsa.org for crisis communications
assistance. This is yet another way in
which ACSA has your back.
ACSA even provides free strike sup-
port to members. Member Services
experts like former Member Services
Assistant Executive Director Joseph
Jones developed the ACSA Strike
Manual. They will come into your dis-
trict and help you prepare for and work
to keep students safe and learning
throughout a strike.
I have been told that leadership can
be a lonely occupation. It needn’t be.
ACSA is here to support you. Let us
know how we can help.
– Wesley Smith
Executive Director