Positions

Equitable Access to Quality Education

1. The state is ultimately responsible for providing a system of public education.
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2. Basic educational necessities provided to some students must be provided to all.
3. The fundamental elements that must be present to create a teaching and learning environment that provides access and equitable opportunity for all children include, but are not limited to:
   1. a safe school environment;
   2. books and instructional supplies;
   3. clean, healthy facilities in good repair, with seating for all students;
   4. fully qualified teachers;
   5. parental involvement;
   6. strong school-site management.

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4. An effective state system of monitoring and accountability must be present to ensure that all receive basic educational necessities.
   
   

   Readiness to Learn

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5. All children should enter school ready to learn to their fullest potential. Measures to ensure this are:
   1. school readiness programs, including universal access to preschools that are high quality, developmentally appropriate, and voluntary;
   2. outreach to and support for parents of young children to enable parents to contribute to their child's readiness to learn.

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   Curriculum

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6. There should be joint responsibility for coordinated curriculum planning in which the state develops broad guidelines for a common core curriculum and the local district develops a comprehensive, challenging curriculum that:
   1. includes the state minimum requirements;
   2. meets the needs and challenges the abilities of all students in the district;
   3. reflects priorities set in the local community.

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   Guidelines

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7. There should be state policies, guidelines, and standards for curriculum that encourage the local districts to:
   1. develop a broad curriculum;
   2. provide for an appropriate range of student abilities and interests;
   3. evaluate feasibility of proposals and effectiveness of curriculum.

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   Program

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8. There should be educational programs that have sufficient resources to provide all students with:
   1. a command of basic skills;
   2. competence in complex skills;
   3. exposure to a broad common body of knowledge;
   4. an appreciation and respect for one's own cultural heritage and that of others;
   5. sufficient instruction to develop competence in speaking, reading, and writing English;
   6. services needed to ensure a school environment conducive to learning;
   7. a process to identify special needs and provide appropriate services to meet those needs;
   8. a variety of challenging learning opportunities;
   9. preparation for leading productive lives, including responsible citizenship;
   10. the opportunity to graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to choose postsecondary education or immediate entry into gainful employment or both.

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   Assessment

9. There should be responsibility at the state level for a student assessment system that has as its goal the improvement of the quality of education and student learning with:
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   1. adequate resources, assistance and time to enable schools to improve student learning;
   2. development of appropriate assessment tools that measure basic skills as well as complex skills and reveal exposure to a broad common body of knowledge;
   3. a student assessment system that is timely, accessible, and understandable to teachers, parents, administrators, and the public;
   4. a student assessment system that recognizes and promotes student advancement and growth rather than initiating punitive sanctions.

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   Personnel State Level

10. Responsibility at the state level for:
    1. developing guidelines for recruiting, training, certifying, and retraining teachers that maintain high standards;
    2. including early and extensive experience in the classroom in the teacher training system;
    3. developing guidelines for evaluation that are fair, rigorous, and frequent with high standards for retraining teachers and with effective procedures for removing ineffective teachers;
    4. allocating sufficient funds to provide adequate and appropriate salaries for teachers and administrators;
    5. maintaining a financially sound teacher retirement system;
    6. regulations governing tenure that permit a fair, rigorous, and frequent evaluation system.

    Local Level

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11. Responsibility at the local level for:
    1. maintaining high performance standards for teachers and administrators;
    2. implementing a fair, rigorous, frequent evaluation system;
    3. providing opportunities for retraining and professional growth for teachers;
    4. ensuring adequate and appropriate salaries and benefits;
    5. providing a work environment that is conducive to good teaching;
    6. providing incentives for excellence in teaching;
    7. sustaining community support and recognition for educators and education;
    8. providing the appropriate notice and access for the community to the collective bargaining process;
    9. utilizing, when possible, collaborative approaches to collective bargaining.

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    Finance State Level

12. Responsibility at the state level for:
    1. primary funding of public education, with provision for as much local control as possible over local schools;
    2. providing sustainable, transparent, adequate, flexible, and timely funding derived from a combination of tax sources to ensure all students have the opportunity to achieve state standards;
    3. developing a school finance system that incorporates a multi-year mechanism and enables orderly, timely, effective budgeting and negotiating processes at the local level;
    4. developing a process for forward funding of the educational budget with decisions made in the year before implementation;
    5. equitable distribution of general purpose funds based on student population;
    6. separate and appropriate funding of categorical programs for students with special needs such as Special Education, English Language Learners, and the socio-economically disadvantaged;
    7. limiting the number of programs qualifying for categorical funding to increase flexibility to meet local priorities;
    8. an equitable funding system that encourages local control;
    9. full funding of mandated programs and procedures to avoid encroachment upon the general educational program;
    10. periodic review of state-mandated programs;
    11. a uniform system of budgeting and accounting that is understandable to the public;
    12. opposition to expenditures by the state for vouchers to non-public schools;
    13. measures that make it possible for school districts to seek new revenue locally.

    District Level

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13. Responsibility at the district level for:
    1. seeking input on educational priorities from all stakeholders, including, but not limited to, school site councils, school board members, principals, teachers, parents, and community organizations;
    2. utilizing available flexibility of funds to meet local priorities.

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    Governance

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14. There should be a system of educational governance that:
    1. clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of institutions such as the State Board of Education and individuals such as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction responsible for educational governance;
    2. provides clear lines of authority, with accountability:
       1. the state is accountable to its citizens for providing public education to all California students;
       2. the local district is accountable to its community and state for meeting the educational needs of its students.

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       State Level

15. Responsibility at the state level for:
    1. setting broad education goals and policies;
    2. formulating long range plans for the statewide system;
    3. determining minimum standards and guidelines for evaluating student progress;
    4. a state educational code that defines state responsibilities and allows local decision making;
    5. developing broad guidelines for instructional materials selection;
    6. school building safety standards.

    Local Level

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16. Responsibility at the local level for:
    1. setting long range community goals and interim objectives;
    2. long range planning for the district;
    3. formulation, implementation, and evaluation of programs;
    4. effective implementation of mandated programs;
    5. developing strategies and methods to improve performance of at-risk students;
    6. involving the community in assessing local educational needs and goals;
    7. working cooperatively with local and/or county agencies to obtain support for school services.

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    Role of the Public

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17. The public should play a role in public education with:
    1. public access and involvement in decision making provided by state and local educational governance bodies;
    2. parental and community involvement encouraged at the school site level.

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    Public Charter Schools

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18. The League believes public charter schools should:
    1. be authorized and under the oversight of a locally elected or appointed school board within whose district or county they reside;
    2. be governed only by an entity with ties and accountability to the community whose students they serve;
    3. provide equitable access to all students and work to have enrollment reflect the demographics of the community served;
    4. be required to report the same academic, demographic, attendance, and financial data to the state and the public as any other public school and school district;
    5. be required to get authorization for any expansion to new sites (including resource centers) and that any such expansion require an evaluation of their current effectiveness and compliance with their contract;
    6. adhere to the California Public Records Act and applicable Open Meeting laws and provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974.
19. The League further believes that:
    1. California standards governing the granting of charters, their renewal and their funding should be periodically reevaluated and amended as necessary;
    2. the calculation of attendance for independent-study and virtual schools should be evaluated to align attendance practices with school district standards.

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