March 4, 2019
PLATFORM
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islative Policy Committee, is ratified by the
Leadership Assembly and adopted by the
ACSA Board of Directors. By establishing
advocacy priorities, the Platform guides
the advocacy work of the association and
is used to inform lawmakers of the organi-
zation’s highest education priorities. While
the ACSA Legislative Platform is intended
to identify major advocacy priorities, the
absence of any particular policy issue does
not preclude the Governmental Relations
staff from representing the membership in
policy areas that may arise over the course
of the legislative session.
Guiding principles
• Access: ACSA supports policies that
ensure every student has access to a phys-
ically and emotionally safe school, and to
high quality educational programs designed
to prepare each student for success in col-
lege and/or the 21st century workforce.
• Equity: ACSA will take action to
confront barriers that limit the success of
historically underserved students and will
advocate for policies and practices that
result in equitable educational outcomes.
• Local Control: ACSA supports pol-
icies that empower school leaders to make
local decisions that best serve students and
their communities.
ACSA discourages the inclusion of
new state-mandated activities without
the proper funding reimbursement unless
there is a prevailing statewide interest or
the simplification of existing programmatic
requirements.
Priority areas
• Accountability and Continuous Im-
provement System
ACSA supports the successful imple-
mentation of a single, coherent account-
ability and continuous improvement system
grounded on the inclusion of multiple mea-
sures that determine student progress and
considers conditions of learning. ACSA
supports the design and implementation
of meaningful professional development
opportunities and locally-tailored resources
to build the capacity of educators support-
ing student academic growth and a positive
school environment.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Pursue continued improvement of the
state accountability system, including the
development and refinement of the state
and local performance indicators on the
California School Dashboard.
b) Consider modified methods for the
accountability system for alternative educa-
tion that recognizes all growth.
c) Strengthen the English Learner
reclassification processes.
d) Seek consolidation and alignment
between state and federal reporting require-
ments to the extent possible.
• Charter Schools
ACSA supports a comprehensive and
coherent public education system that
includes quality options for all students.
ACSA’s Board of Directors established a
Charter School Task Force that developed
a set of principles which the Board adopted
in October 2017. These guiding princi-
ples are prefaced with the belief that state,
county, district and charter leaders need to
work together to improve student learning
through public accountability and transpar-
ency, equity and diversity, and innovation.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Work to ensure that charter schools
implement nondiscriminatory enrollment
practices and reflect the demographics
of the general population of the school
district, including but not limited to: foster
youth, students with moderate to severe
disabilities, English learners and economi-
cally disadvantaged students.
b) Support charter governance structures
that are free from conflicts of interest and
promote oversight for fiscal operations and
educational accountability that is equal to
that of district schools, including compli-
ance with the Brown Act.
c) Limit a district’s ability to approve
charter schools outside of the district’s
jurisdiction.
• Early Childhood Education
ACSA recognizes the important benefits
of Early Childhood Education in help-
ing with a child’s brain development and
opportunity to increase student’s readiness
by the time they enter Transitional Kinder-
garten or kindergarten. ACSA will evaluate
early childhood education funding prior-
ities against all other TK-adult priorities
funded by Proposition 98 and the state’s
general fund.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Pursue policy changes to improve the
existing State Preschool program eligibility
and program requirements.
b) Consider the prioritization of existing
funds to expand access, improve quality or
increase the reimbursement rates.
c) Respond to the recommendations
issued by the Assembly Speaker’s Blue
Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood
Education.
• Educator Effectiveness & Pipeline
Students deserve the highest quality ed-
ucators in every classroom. The teacher and
administrator shortage, along with policy
changes to restore bilingual education and
increased leave benefits, will challenge dis-
tricts to find and retain qualified employees
in order to provide a quality education for
all students. Investing in professional learn-
ing for teachers and administrators further
aids in their preparation and retention.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Strive to secure 3 percent of Title 2
funds that are allocated to administrator
professional learning for school and district
leaders.
b) Advocate for changing the member-
ship of the Commission on Teacher Cre-
dentialing to include at least one human
resource administrator.
c) Embed mental health and trauma-in-
formed training into teacher and adminis-
trator credentialing programs.
d) Support programs that help recruit
and retain teachers, especially in critical
shortage areas.
• Mental Health
Student mental health needs are a
prevalent state-wide issue that requires
legislative awareness and attention. ACSA
members report that rates of anxiety,
depression, trauma, and suicide are at all-
time high, including amongst alternative
and adult education students. Addressing
student mental health needs requires broad,
coordinated efforts of which schools play
one part.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Increase coordination amongst
schools and community providers.
b) Direct non-Prop. 98 funding to
school districts to support local needs,
including expanding student access to men-
tal health services. Funding sources may
include federal Medicaid/Medi-Cal, as well
as revenues from both the Mental Health
Services Act (Prop. 63) and marijuana taxes
(Prop. 64).
• Retirement
All public educators deserve retirement
security. To this end, ACSA is committed
to preserving the defined benefit structure,
particularly given that most educators do
not receive federal social security benefits
and that the current benefit model is a
primary recruitment and retention tool for
school districts.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Oppose any effort to eliminate de-
fined benefit retirement plans.
b) Repeal the Government Pension Off-
set and Windfall Elimination Provision.
c) Maintain the integrity of the Califor-
nia Rule, which guarantees public employ-
ee retirees the pension benefit they were
promised at time of hire.
• Safe & Healthy Schools
ACSA is committed to ensuring the
physical and emotional health of all stu-
dents, recognizing that children can only
reach their full potential when healthy and
safe. Every student, staff, teacher, and ad-
ministrator must be prepared to respond to
any school crisis that threatens the health
and safety of school community mem-
bers. ACSA supports the comprehensive
approaches to providing a healthy and safe
educational environment that is conducive
to student learning.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Update school safety plan require-
ments to meet current needs.
b) Protect the legal rights of all students
to attend schools free of discrimination,
harassment, bullying, violence, and intimi-
dation.
c) Work with relevant state agencies to
develop air quality guidance for purposes of
school closure.
• School Facilities
Students and employees deserve quality
and equitable school facilities. The bulk
of Proposition 51 bond funds for new
construction and modernization have been
committed to school districts yet remain
unsold, leaving more than $5 billion in
available funding from the state. Our
school facility needs continue to grow while
waiting for bond funds to be sold.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Support efforts to release remaining
Proposition 51 bond funds.
b) Support a school facilities bond for
the March 2020 ballot that includes chang-
es to the state and school building program
to ease timelines and bureaucracy.
EDCAL 3
c) Support funding outside of Propo-
sition 98 to pay for emergency repairs due
to natural disasters and to provide clean,
lead-free water to our schools.
• School Finance
ACSA calls on the state and feder-
al governments to provide the resources
necessary to offer innovative and excellent
public education opportunities, support
quality teaching and leadership, and foster
parent, business and community involve-
ment on behalf of California students.
ACSA urges the state Legislature and
Gov. Gavin Newsom to identify and work
towards achieving a long-term funding
solution to bring California into the top ten
rankings in per-pupil funding, as called for
in the State Constitution.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Support allocation of Proposition
98 funds to fully fund existing programs,
including adjustments for inflation and
enrollment growth, as well as the full
reimbursement of mandated activities and
the equitable distribution for allocating
one-time funds.
b) Support increased education funding,
including the development of a long-term
investment strategy for public education.
c) Mitigate the impact of increased
employer retirement contributions while
preserving the solvency of the public retire-
ment systems.
d) Establish new funding targets for
the Local Control Funding Formula and
pursue improvements as needed.
• Special Education
Special education targets the needs of
students with disabilities to help them
achieve their educational goals and succeed
in school. While special education services
are state and federally mandated, state and
federal funding has simply not kept pace
with skyrocketing special education costs.
ACSA supports special education reform
that recognizes the growing number and
increased severity of students identified
with special needs, provides appropriate
funding for special education services and
increased support for districts identified for
targeted assistance under the state account-
ability system. ACSA believes it is time for
the state to address the glaring inequities in
the current special education funding.
Policy recommendations may include,
but are not limited to:
a) Supporting increased resources for
special education including the equalization
of SELPA base rates and increased state
support for infant and preschool Special
Education programs.
b) Supporting the establishment of
a funding allowance within the AB 602
formula for preschoolers and students with
severe disabilities.
c) Engaging in the reauthorization
of the Individuals with Disabilities Act
(IDEA).
Leaders in Action
Submitted by the Career Technical
Education Council’s Paul Dautremont
from Region 18.
Students at Pomerado Elementary
are spending the school year inves-
tigating occupational themes and
career exploration. In December, 12
Poway High School students and their
instructors, visited Pomerado, a “No
Excuses University” school, to examine
animal care and conservation careers
with a focus on the Realistic and Inves-
tigative characteristics of these fields.
Pomerado Elementary students (rang-
ing from TK to 5th grade) participated
in hands-on learning experiences, led
by Poway High School’s Agricultural
Pathway students. This cross-grade
mentoring event highlighted skills
and traits necessary for veterinarian
sciences, zoology, marine conservation,
farming and animal training.
The high school students (many of
whom are also members of the FFA)
facilitated an engaging, exciting and
memorable day for the Pomerado
students. Upcoming career pathway
exploration at Pomerado may include:
law enforcement, graphic design,
technology education, publishing, food
industry, environmental science, theme
park engineering and finance.
resources and more at
www.acsa.org