POLICY UPDATES:
Family Engagement Gets Boost in New State Education Budget
|
|
|
Why this is important: Since its founding, the Parent Organization Network (PON) has recognized education policy plays an important role in providing a structure and establishing operating procedures, setting expectations for quality of teaching and student academic performance, and defining accountability measures. Through our projects, PON consistently has worked with policy makers and partners to ensure the voice of parents of school-age children is well-represented in the policy making process so parents and their children are better served. We've been encouraged by the positive steps taken to better include family engagement and we'd like to share some highlights:
|
|
I. CDE Math Framework
Our efforts influenced positive changes to a second draft of the proposed math framework released by the California Department of Education (CDE) which strengthens the role of family engagement. During this second round of input, PON and our partners advocated to explicitly link family engagement with student learning. We provided solid examples of practitioners using family engagement as an equity strategy to improve math outcomes for all students. The State Board of Education allowed more time for CDE staff to make additional changes and will review the draft again in 2023.
|
|
Reaction: We are cautiously optimistic our second round of input will be reflected in the final version of the document.
|
|
|
II. California State System of Support
This year’s budget surplus allowed Governor Newsom and the California Legislature to make sizeable investments for TK-12 education in art and music ($3.5 billion), educator effectiveness ($1.5B), and facilities modernization projects ($1.3B), while adding more funding to the existing Community Schools initiative ($1.1B), and allocating that same amount to replace the current, diesel-fueled student transportation fleet with zero-emission, electric school buses. PON applauds these investments and thanks our partners for championing several of those vital issues.
Trend: Our leaders in Sacramento are strengthening the California State System of Support to include family and community engagement. This system aims to help school districts and their schools to meet the needs of each student they serve, with a focus on building local capacity to sustain improvement and to effectively address disparities in opportunities and outcomes. The system is facilitated through county offices of education (COEs). Investments in 2022-23 include:
-
Math: $85 million was budgeted for teacher professional development and coaching in math and science, with $35 million awarded to the Fresno COE to expand the existing California Statewide Early Math Initiative in grade TK to 12. The other $50M will go to another COE, to be determined later, that will work in partnership with the Fresno COE.
-
Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists: $250 million was allocated for literacy, with $25 million set aside to select a COE with experience and a proven track record of improving literacy, and training coaches and specialists in developing literacy plans, programs, and interventions. Family engagement is embedded within the definition of school literacy programs. This means the COE will be expected to know how to build school staff’s capacity to effectively engage families in literacy-based activities to support their child’s reading proficiency.
-
Special Education: Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) serve as “resource leads” to work with other COEs to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Existing law requires establishing three resource leads. The law changed to require that at least one of these three lead agencies must be chosen in partnership with family-support organizations to provide training and technical assistance. This will allow school districts to strengthen their supports for families of students with disabilities, as well as apply practices to help families and school staff avoid conflict or resolve problems within the special education context.
-
Community Engagement: The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) led by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the San Bernardino COE, Families in Schools, and CABE was awarded $100 million to strengthen and expand its work in 2022-23. The CEI builds capacity in communities and schools to expand successful community engagement practices statewide. An expert community-engagement lead agency will co-administer the expansion.
|
|
Reaction/Question: How can school districts and charters more easily access the State System of Support? Even after school districts identify they need help, meeting the criteria for differentiated assistance or qualifying for intervention, and receiving actual support is a lengthy, overly complex process that needs to be simplified.
|
|
|
III. Adding Parents/Guardians of Students with Special Needs to List of Groups that Need to Be Included in Advisory Committees
The law changed to expand the current composition beyond parents or legal guardians of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, students who are in foster care, and English Learners. This change means students with disabilities will be better represented at the school committee level to help ensure their needs are better addressed.
|
|
Reaction/Question: We are pleased that parents of students with disabilities were at last included! These four categories of students now include the majority of students in school districts. At the same time they leave out important minority groups such as African American, American Indian, Filipino and Pacific Islander student subgroups some of which are historically and persistently over-represented in groups that have high needs and struggle with academic performance. However, given their small numbers and existing cultural and linguistic barriers, they are too often not represented within the current subgroup categories. Could a new category be added to LCFF to include them? We ask our leaders and partners to help close this loophole.
|
|
|
Many thanks to The Education Trust-West for sponsoring the bill to build educator capacity in math and science and to all our coalition partners for including family engagement in their legislative advocacy.
|
|
|
For comments or questions about this newsletter please contact
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
