Policy and Legislation

July 1, 2015

What schools and parents need to know about the new vaccination law

Almost every school district in California will be affected.

February 18, 2015

Report calls for districts to create specific goals for foster youth

Few districts have addressed suspension and expulsion rates, report finds.

January 29, 2015

Districts detail plans for suspension reductions in local plans

Nearly every school district says it wants to reduce student suspensions, but only some have created plans with the kind of detail, funding and statistical savvy that make it more likely they'll succeed, according to a report released Wednesday that analyzed plans to improve "school climate" in the 50 largest school districts in California.

Jane Meredith Adams

January 7, 2015

New laws to improve student health supports

A slew of new laws affecting students’ physical, emotional and behavioral wellbeing will change how schools operate this year, in ways large and small. The laws regulate basic needs grants for truant students, pesticide use and expulsions for "willfully defiant" behavior, among other issues.

Jane Meredith Adams

November 30, 2014

Positive discipline gets boost in district plans

With a big push from the state’s new approach to education spending, many California school districts appear to be ramping up investments in positive approaches to discipline.

Jane Meredith Adams

September 28, 2014

New law limits student discipline measure

A new law that limits the use of “willful defiance” as a reason to expel or suspend students signifies a growing commitment on the part of the state to find more positive approaches to disciplining students.