Category Archives: Governor Newsom

Vacaville school board to consider budgets for district – The Reporter

Posted on by

BY Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of the Vacaville Unified School District will consider adopting with a projected $116 million in General Fund revenues for the 2020-21 academic year at its Thursday meeting.

The revenue assumptions used for the budget are based on projections from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May revisions to the state budget. The district’s budget is also linked to the approval process of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), both of which require a public hearing and adoption. The budget approval process will have both at Thursday’s school board meeting, while an LCAP hearing will be held at a later date.

For the 2020-21 school year, VUSD is anticipating $5 million in local funding, $9 million in state funding, $4.6 million in federal funding and $97.9 million in funding from the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), a funding system which establishes grants in place of funding streams. Combined, the funding systems are projected to provide more than $116 million for the next school year.

Source: Vacaville school board to consider budgets for district, Kimme – The Reporter

Gov. Newsom: California budget deal avoids teacher layoffs – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Maggie Angst and John Woolfolk

As California struggles to manage the impact of the growing coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a state budget deal that avoids deep education cuts to close a cavernous deficit created by the crisis.

Newsom offered few details in the deal hashed out with legislative leaders late Sunday, but he stressed that the most feared cuts to public schools that he’d called for to help close a $54.3 billion shortfall will be averted.

“We have provisions against teacher layoffs,” Newsom said Monday. “That is good news, that was foundational, something we all cared deeply about. There was concern and anxiety about layoffs and pink slips and that was substantially addressed.”

Source: Gov. Newsom: California budget deal avoids teacher layoffs – The Reporter

California Legislature pressing forward on budget vote without deal with Newsom [San Francisco Chronicle]

Posted on by

Legislators will vote on a new state budget Monday, even though they have yet to strike a deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom on a plan to close California’s $54.3 billion deficit.

The move could be largely procedural. State Senate and Assembly leaders said Wednesday that lawmakers plan to vote and then continue “productive” talks with Newsom, to meet a June 15 deadline for passing a budget or have their pay cut off.

Their plan is to take up a budget that legislative leaders announced last week, which differed in several respects from the version Newsom put forward in May.

Source: California Legislature pressing forward on budget vote without deal with Newsom [San Francisco Chronicle]

Special Education Guidance for COVID-19 – Health Services & School Nursing (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

The United States is currently experiencing a pandemic emergency due to the threat of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). On March 13, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-26-20 ensuring State funding for Local Educational Agencies (LEA) in the event of physical closure due to the threat of COVID-19. The Executive Order requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to issue guidance on several topics, including ensuring students with disabilities (SWD) receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) consistent with their individualized education program (IEP) and meeting other procedural requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and California law.

At this time, the federal government has not waived the federal requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To review guidance from the USDOE titled “Questions and Answers on Providing Services to Children with Disabilities During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak,” visit the USDOE website at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/qa-covid-19-03-12-2020.pdf. The CDE and the California State Board of Education (SBE) are working with the United States Department of Education (USDOE) to determine what flexibilities or waivers may be issued in light of the extraordinary circumstances. Until and unless USDOE ultimately provides flexibilities under federal law, LEAs should do their best in adhering to IDEA requirements, including federally mandated timelines, to the maximum extent possible. LEAs are encouraged to consider ways to use distance technology to meet these obligations. However, the CDE acknowledges the complex, unprecedented challenges LEAs are experiencing from the threat of COVID-19. As such, the CDE is committed to a reasonable approach to compliance monitoring that accounts for the exceptional circumstances facing the state.

Source: Special Education Guidance for COVID-19 – Health Services & School Nursing (CA Dept of Education)

How some California school districts invest in counseling—and achieve results – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Carolyn Jones

Geovanna Veloz, a senior at Mission High School in San Francisco, has always known she wants to be a nurse. What she didn’t know was how to get there.

Her parents couldn’t help much. Immigrants from Mexico, they speak limited English, work long hours and don’t have much experience with education. Neither went to high school at all, in fact.

Enter the school’s academic counseling staff. They ensured that Veloz took the right classes and helped her pick colleges, sign up for the SAT, submit applications and fill out financial aid forms. Veloz is now waiting to hear from three California State University campuses and two University of California schools.

Source: How some California school districts invest in counseling—and achieve results – The Reporter

Thurmond Praises Governor Newsom’s 2020 Budget – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today praised Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020–21.

“Over the last year, my team and I have been collaborating with educational partners, including teachers and administrators all over the state, through my 13 workgroups, to establish and validate the areas of focus and priority initiatives for the California Department of Education,” said Thurmond. “Today, we were pleased to hear that many of the budget announcements were aligned with the work we have been doing. Governor Newsom and his team have produced a budget that is comprehensive, aligns with our goals to ensure equitable education for all students, and allows us to focus on helping our most vulnerable students in underserved communities.”

The budget includes the largest K–12 education per pupil expenditure in history. It proposes increasing K–12 education by $3 billion, with an investment of approximately $900 million for teacher preparation and retention.

Source: Thurmond Praises Governor Newsom’s 2020 Budget – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Education Is on the Ballot in These Governors’ Races – Education Week

Posted on by

BY Evie Blad

Voters in three southern states head to the polls Tuesday for governors races that have cast a spotlight on contentious debates over education issues like choice, funding, and teacher pay.

Political prognosticators often watch the off-year elections —in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi—for signs of voters’ attitudes going into the presidential election the next year. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have campaigned for Republican candidates in all three states this year, and those candidates have run television ads that emphasize their ties to the national politicians.

Voters in those states—which all favored Trump in the 2016 election—must weigh that popularity along with priorities that hit close to home, like how to build an education system that supports their economies.

Source: Education Is on the Ballot in These Governors’ Races – Politics K-12 – Education Week

Local school officials react to Newsom bill on start times – Times-Herald

Posted on by

By Thomas Gase

Students in California will have an extra chance to hit the snooze button in the future due to legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday, a proposal designed to improve educational outcomes by giving students more sleep.

California will become the first state in the nation to mandate later start times at most middle schools and high schools under bill SP 328, which would require the school day for middle schools and high schools, including those operated as charter schools, to begin no earlier than 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively, by July 1, 2022, or the date on which a school district’s or charter school’s respective collective bargaining agreement that is operative on January 1, 2020, expires, whichever is later, except for rural school districts.

Source: Local school officials react to Newsom bill mandating later school start times – Times-Herald

Governor Newsom Agrees CA Middle And High Schools Need Later Start Times – Good Day Sacramento

Posted on by

High schools in California will need to push the first bell back to 8:30 a.m. starting in the 2022-2023 school year so teenagers can get more sleep.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 328 on Sunday, requiring high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools to start no earlier than 8 am.

Rural counties will be exempt from specified start times.

Currently, more than three-quarters of middle and high schools in California start before 8:30 am.

Source: Governor Newsom Agrees California Middle And High Schools Need Later Start Times – Good Day Sacramento

California’s charter schools, unions call a truce in an epic battle – Times-Herald

Posted on by

By Ricardo Cano/Cal Matters

Gov. Gavin Newsom brokered an agreement Wednesday on a high-profile charter-school regulation proposal at the center of this year’s contentious battle between teachers unions and charter advocates, removing a key hurdle for its passage this session.

The compromise on Assembly Bill 1505 comes after months of lobbying by the state’s two most influential education interest groups and several impassioned hearings over sweeping proposed changes to how the publicly funded, independently managed schools operate in California.

Initiated in the early 1990s as a way to bring innovation into California’s K-12 school system, charter schools have sharply grown over the years, primarily in the state’s urban school systems, and have become a flashpoint for unions, who contend they draw enrollment away from traditional public schools, depriving them of critical funding and resources.

Source: California’s charter schools, unions call a truce in an epic battle – Times-Herald

Sen. Bill Dodd’s college student food-insecurity bill signed by Gavin Newsom – Times Herald

Posted on by

By Times Herald

Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, had his student food-insecurity bill signed by the Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday.

The legislation addresses the growing problem of college student food insecurity by ensuring low-income students have reliable access to nutritious food through the Cal Fresh program.

“Food insecurity is a serious problem on California college campuses today and this is an important step to address it,” Sen. Dodd said. “My bill will ensure students of modest means don’t go hungry by making it easier for them to receive public assistance. Students shouldn’t have to starve in order to get an education.”

Source: Sen. Bill Dodd’s college student food-insecurity bill signed by Gavin Newsom – Times Herald

California’s after-school programs still waiting on cannabis tax money – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Brooke Staggs

Supporters of California’s publicly funded After School Education and Safety programs — which educate and care for nearly 500,000 low-income elementary and middle school kids — were encouraged in 2016 when they heard and read the ads that supported the state’s ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

The good feeling didn’t reflect how they felt about cannabis. It came because the Yes on Proposition 64 campaign told voters — in advertising and in a statement printed on the official statewide ballot  — that one of the first beneficiaries of tax revenue generated by regulated marijuana would be after school programs.

And those After School Education and Safety (ASES) programs really needed the help.

Source: California’s after-school programs still waiting on cannabis tax money – The Reporter

2019-20 Budget Includes Balanced Investments – Cal Budget

Posted on by

On June 27, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the 2019-20 state budget, an agreement with state legislative leaders that makes a series of investments in creating economic security and opportunities for Californians, while also fostering the state’s fiscal health.

The budget includes revenues and transfers of $146 billion for 2019-20. This represents an increase of more than $4 billion over the enacted 2018-19 budget, driven largely by the state’s continued economic growth.

The budget package includes a mix of one-time and ongoing investments vital to low- and middle-income Californian’s economic prosperity, including: a significant expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), additional investments in early childhood development, extending paid family leave, continuing to expand health coverage, boosting investments in the K-12 and state higher education systems, and promoting greater access to mental health services. The 2019-20 budget also provides funding for housing affordability and to address homelessness, recognizing that the high cost of housing continues to burden and destabilize many Californians. These proposals, individually and in combination, will significantly improve the health and well-being of millions of Californians, most notably low- and middle-income people of color, immigrants, and women and children.

Source: 2019-20 Budget Includes Balanced Investments – Cal Budget

Thurmond Praises Newsom’s K–12 Education Budget – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today praised Governor Gavin Newsom’s revised budget for fiscal year 2019–20. “Our Governor just announced the largest-ever investment in K–12 schools, with 45 percent of all proposed increased spending to benefit our schools. We applaud this commitment to public education, especially by adding funding to assist students with the greatest needs. The revision also makes significant investments in the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, and supporting the financial burdens they face,” he said.

Governor Newsom proposed increasing K–12 education by $4.4 billion in non-Proposition 98 spending for the benefit of our schools, while Prop 98 funding is at $81.1 billion, the most it has been in years.“

I am pleased that Governor Newsom is placing a top priority on education and look forward to a strong, productive partnership with him, the Legislature, and all stakeholders in the next few years that will lift up all of our students by improving our education system and increasing the resources that go to our schools—today’s announcements prove his commitment to increasing funding for public education,” he said.

Source: Thurmond Praises Newsom’s K–12 Education Budget – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Gavin Newsom releases revised budget proposal today with huge surplus – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Katy Murphy

As Gov. Gavin Newsom today prepares to reveal his latest budget proposal for a state flush with cash, lawmakers and interest groups are watching closely to see how the governor proposes to spend — or save — what appears to be an unprecedented windfall.

At hand is an update of the blueprint the governor unveiled in January: a $209 billion budget that included a general fund of $144 billion and a record-high surplus of $21.5 billion. It offered more money for schools, child care, affordable housing, wildfire prevention and the expansion of Medi-Cal availability to young undocumented adults, while shoring up budget reserves and paying down some of the state’s sizable pension debt.

Source: Gavin Newsom releases revised budget proposal today with huge surplus – The Reporter

Governor’s Inaugural Budget Proposal  – California Budget & Policy Center

Posted on by

On January 10, Governor Gavin Newsom released a proposed 2019-20 budget that calls for a series of bold and smart investments in broadening economic security and opportunity for Californians, while continuing to strengthen the state’s underlying fiscal health.

The Governor forecasts revenues that are $8.1 billion higher (over a three-year “budget window” from 2017-18 to 2019-20) than previously projected in the 2018-19 budget enacted last June, driven largely by continued economic growth.

The Governor’s proposal includes a range of significant expansions in support of low- and middle-income Californians who are struggling to make ends meet and access greater economic opportunity, including doubling the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, working toward universal preschool for 4-year olds, investing in child care infrastructure, expanding health care to move closer to universal coverage, expanding paid family leave, boosting CalWORKs grants, and increasing investment in state higher education systems. Recognizing that high housing costs contribute to California’s high poverty rate, Governor Newsom also proposes a mix of policies and an expanded state role to address housing needs and homelessness. These policies would make California more affordable and more equitable for millions of Californians.

Source: Governor’s Inaugural Budget Proposal Includes Bold and Smart Investments, While Maintaining Fiscal Health – California Budget & Policy Center