Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 28 | May 20, 2019
State
invests
$101.8B
on ed
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May budget revi-
sion includes the most investments ever for
the state’s nearly 6.2 million K-12 students
at a total $101.8 billion.
Higher than expected revenues in the
first part of the year freed up more funds
that were targeted to education. According
to the governor, 45 percent of the total
$213 billion budget is dedicated to K-14
education.
“California public education is stronger
today than it has been in years and we
applaud the governor for his fiscal growth
mindset that will position our students to
be leaders of our next generations,” said
ACSA Executive Director Wes Smith.
Changes from Newsom’s January budget
include:
• $696.2 million in ongoing funds for
special education (increase of $119.2 mil-
lion from January).
• $13.9 million in ongoing professional
development for administrators.
• $44.8 million in non-Prop. 98 fund-
ing to provide professional development
for inclusive practices, social emotional
learning, computer science and restorative
practices.
• Additional $150 million to reduce
STRS employer contributions, further
reducing the financial burden on school
districts.
• $89.8 million for one-time funding
for loan forgiveness.
• $36 million in one-time funds for
Classified School Employees Summer
Assistance Program.
ACSA Governmental Relations Senior
See BUDGET, page 2
Equity conference. Join teach-
ACSA Vice President Ron Williams and President Holly Edds prepare to give out awards honoring
ACSA leaders during a dinner held at Leadership Assembly May 8.
Leaders recap year’s
successes at Assembly
Members of ACSA’s Leadership
Assembly met in Sacramento May 8-10
for an update on the year’s progress and
to make decisions about the organiza-
tion’s future.
The Leadership Assembly’s action
item for the Thursday meeting was to
elect the 2019-20 Vice President and
Vice President for Legislative Action.
Charlie Hoffman, superintendent
of Shasta-Trinity ROP and Bella Vista
ESD, was elected Vice President of
the board, which puts him in line to be
ACSA President in the 2021-22 year.
Hoffman, who ran unopposed, has been
an ACSA member since 1997 and has
represented Region 1 on ACSA’s CTE
Council, Superintendency Council and
the State Board.
Barbara Martinez, principal at Pacific
Grove Adult Education, was elected as
Vice President for Legislative Action.
The post puts her in charge of leading
ACSA’s efforts at the 2020 Legislative
Action Day.
ACSA Executive Director Wes
Smith gave the Leadership Assembly
an update on the accomplishments
ACSA has had
in the 2018-19
year. Highlights
included ACSA’s
Photos from
response to the
Leadership
Camp Fire by
Assembly.
donating 2,000
Page 4
Chromebooks
to help establish
makeshift class-
rooms for students displaced by the fire,
strike support and training materials
to help districts facing teacher strikes,
Inside
See ASSEMBLY, page 4
Health framework draws hundreds to SBE
More than 200 parents, educators and
interested citizens filed into the State
Board of Education meeting on May 8
to express support and opposition for the
state’s new Health Education Framework.
The board approved the framework, but
not before removing five reference books
for educators that provoked the most heat-
ed opposition.
The framework, which is optional and
does not mandate specific curriculum or
instruction methods, includes updates on
teaching sexual health content as mandated
by the 2016 California Healthy Youth Act.
The CHYA requires that students
receive medically accurate and unbiased
comprehensive sexual health education and
HIV prevention information once in mid-
dle school and once in high school.
Parents can opt out of CHYA com-
pletely — schools must inform parents
first so they have the option — and sexual
education is not required until 7th grade,
although districts are permitted to include
lessons sooner.
According to the CDE, the framework’s
focus is on guiding districts and teachers
as they develop curriculum and instruc-
tion that enables students to make healthy
choices and avoid high-risk behaviors. The
framework’s guidance also includes sug-
gestions on the use of gender-neutral and
LGBTQ-inclusive language during health
instruction to make classrooms safer learn-
ing environments free from bullying and
harassment.
The framework is the culmination
of work that began in 2016 that includ-
ed focus groups and establishment of a
Curriculum Framework and Evaluation
Criteria Committee. The committee, which
See SBE, page 3
ers, parents, counselors, and school
site administrators and their teams
for the Excellence Through Equity
Conference, Sept. 19-20 in Napa.
ACSA and SCOE are hosting two
days of workshops designed spe-
cifically to build a strong network of
support for those doing equity work.
Participants will hear from experts
in the field that will challenge and in-
spire while providing the tools need-
ed to create innovative, inclusive, and
equitable pathways to learning. The
keynote speaker is Pedro Noguera, a
distinguished Professor of Education
at the Graduate School of Education
and Information Studies at UCLA.
Registration is $399 with discounts
for registering by June 15. For more
information, visit www.acsa.org/
excellencethroughequity.
Math symposium. Registration is
now open for the annual Early Math
Symposium. The symposium will be
held on Friday, June 21 from 8 a.m. –
4 p.m. at California State University,
East Bay in Hayward. Registrants can
attend in person or via live broadcast.
The symposium is organized by CDE
and the California Early Math Project.
The goal of the EMP is to promote
awareness of the importance of math
in early education (birth to age 8) and
provide tools to parents and educa-
tors. Register at www.calstat.org/
EarlyMathSymposium.
iLEAD Lab Series. ACSA an-
nounces a new equity workshop
called 2+1 iLEAD Lab Series. In
partnership with Generation Ready,
this lab is designed for school site
teams responsible for leading reform
efforts to address achievement gaps.
This series will lead teams through
two days of group work to identify an
equity challenge and craft solutions
using the design thinking process.
Teams then put their prototype idea
into action at their school sites before
coming back for a third day to share
their progress. The lab series will be
June 10-11 and Nov. 5 in Sacramen-
to. Registration is $650 per person
or $3,000 per team of five. Register
online at http://www.cvent.com/d/
h6q6q0.
Summer ‘bootcamp’ prepares
principals to lead effectively
Periodicals
Dated Material
As Jer J. Soriano nears the end of his
first year as a principal, he’s mostly proud
of one thing — that he survived.
“I survived my first year and I am going
into my second year with more valuable
experience across the board as an admin-
istrator in regard to organization, building
positive relationships, and professional net-
working,” said Soriano, principal at John E.
Steinbeck Elementary in Salinas.
The new principal didn’t go into his
first year unprepared. Last summer, Soriano
participated in ACSA’s Institute for New
& Aspiring Principals, a residential pro-
gram held each summer at UCLA that
brings together new and aspiring principals
for five days of speakers, workshops and
exercises. The Principals’ Summer Institute,
another program designed for principals
with three or more years of experience, is
held at UCLA around the same time.
The programs were created as a place
where principals could seclude themselves
and focus on improving leadership.
“We take them away from family, away
from school, away from any concerns
other than self-improvement,” said Laserik
See SUMMER, page 6