CSBA’s legislative bill package to transform state-level governance advances with unanimous, bipartisan support
Four-bill package will establish reciprocal accountability to improve California’s education governance, budgeting and operations, help LEAs boost student achievement and increase state-level accountability and effectiveness
Sacramento, Calif. (April 9, 2026) — A package of bills sponsored by the California School Boards Association (CSBA) to address the education system’s most pressing problems — including persistent achievement gaps and a lack of accountability for results at the state level — unanimously passed the Assembly Education Committee, with all four bills advancing to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
The legislative bill package sponsored by CSBA as part of its SOS for Student Achievement campaign is designed to transform the state’s system of education governance by focusing more squarely on supporting local educational agencies in closing achievement gaps, creating a more coherent and aligned state system, and using data-based outcomes to guide budget and policy decisions.
Hearings on the four bills — Assembly Bill 2225 (Patel, D-San Diego), AB 2149 (Garcia, D-San Bernardino), AB 2514 (Ransom, D-Tracy) and AB 2202 (Muratsuchi, D-Torrance) — featured testimony from bill authors, local school board members, superintendents and education leaders, as well as partners including the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), reflecting broad support for the proposal and its focus on closing persistent achievement gaps.
“The SOS for Student Achievement package establishes a more coordinated, accountable state-level approach to improving student outcomes,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “These bills will help shift the state from a compliance-orientation toward a customer-service approach that delivers concierge-level supports to school districts and county offices of education in their efforts to boost overall student performance and close longstanding achievement gaps.”
This approach aligns with voter sentiment, as six in 10 Californians support the state taking greater responsibility for implementing a comprehensive plan to close achievement gaps, according to a recent statewide survey of California voters conducted by CSBA.
During the legislative hearing, CSBA President Dr. Debra Schade emphasized the importance of reciprocal accountability along with coherent, aligned and accountable state-level governance as essential supports for local efforts to close achievement gaps.
“The path to universally high-quality education is rooted in partnership, alignment, coherence and reciprocal accountability, not mandates and red tape disconnected from local needs,” said CSBA President and Solana Beach School District trustee Dr. Debra Schade. “Accordingly, AB 2225 shifts the focus from compliance to support, so instead of asking, ‘Did the district meet the requirement?’ the state asks, ‘Did the state provide the conditions for success?’”
Dr. Schade’s comments in support of AB 2225 were echoed by local education leaders from across the state who came to Sacramento in support of the SOS for Student Achievement legislative package.
“While districts are held fully accountable for results — a responsibility we wholeheartedly accept — accountability must be shared, not one-sided,” said Hope Elementary School District Superintendent Melanie Matta. “AB 2225 helps establish that balance by creating a coherent state-level operations and support plan that aligns California’s plethora of programs, policies and funding streams under a unified framework that helps local schools facilitate student success.”
“AB 2514 creates a state-level operations and support dashboard, providing visibility into how well the state is performing in supporting student outcomes,” said CSBA President-elect and Ventura Unified School District trustee Sabrena Rodriguez. “Locally, we measure school and district performance, but what’s missing now is a way for you and the public to evaluate whether state-level decisions are having the desired effect … We monitor to evaluate whether the decisions we make are having the desired outcome. The state should do the same — and use outcomes, not inputs to measure success.”
“While certainly some state programs help, others overlap and many, unfortunately, can decrease positive outcomes,” said Maple Elementary School District Superintendent Bryan Easter. “There is no clear statewide picture of what legislative efforts are working and those that are not. This is a problem you can correct by passing AB 2514. Our state has spent decades adding new mandates and compliance requirements for schools with rare ‘look backs’ to see if student performance has improved or achievement gaps have closed. AB 2514 would finally let us see how the state is performing in supporting one of its biggest investments, our school districts, by creating a state-level operations and support dashboard.”
CFT Legislative Director Tristan Brown spoke in support of AB 2202, which would establish a Close the Achievement Gap Commission under the State Board of Education, and AB 2149, which would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to annually evaluate and report on the alignment between the state plan and the state’s proposed and adopted budgets.
“CFT is a big supporter of this package of legislation to bring more coherence to how the state handles our public education system,” Brown said. “It makes all the sense in the world to have our expert policy analysts also provide their input into what we’re doing.”
AB 2225, AB 2149, AB 2514 and AB 2202 will now move to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations as they continue through the legislative process
To learn more about CSBA’s SOS for Student Achievement campaign and advocate for California’s students, visit the campaign page. Find a full description of the bill package here. More updates will be shared as the package moves forward.
CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts
and county offices of education throughout California.
www.csba.org