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Legislation
Roundtable's
Legislative Agenda
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The Business Roundtable for Education is actively involved in
promoting and advocating for legislation that positively impacts
our public education system. The Roundtable works on several
different levels to make this happen:
- "Breakfast Briefings" with legislators and legislative
aides.
- Annual membership trips to Sacramento to meet with state and
education officials.
- Assistance with and sponsorship of bills that reflect the
interests of the public school community and the welfare of
K-12 students in the California public education system.
- Active grassroots organization advocating for education
reform and support for charter and non-charter public education.
- Forums for legislative information dissemination.
- Tools for members to offer legislative input to legislators.
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Legislative Mission
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Initiate, monitor and
influence federal and state legislation that enhances our ability to achieve our strategic
educational goals. Educate and promote legislation concerning charter schools and educational
issues. |
Educational Finance
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State and Federal Education Budgets
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Legislative Bills
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The Roundtable evaluates legislative proposals that
relate to our legislative priorities. In a typical year,
the Legislature will introduce about 500 bills related to K-12
education. |
Legislative Calendar
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Legislative calendar runs from January 1 as state
statutes take effect through October 9, the last day for
the Governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature on or
before September 9 and in his possession after September 14.
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Positioning the Business
Roundtable for Education in 2007
 The
Roundtable is developing and identifying how our ABC agenda will
translate into specific legislative and action proposals. Areas
of concentration include where the Roundtable’s expertise and
subsequent input are welcome, necessary, and pivotal.
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There has been—some
eight years now in the
making—considerable progress in creating a standards-based
curriculum and accompanying support structures (assessments, accountability, professional
development, and instructional materials). However, little has been done to
create and link “business” decisions to supporting learning. We
believe there is both a strong need and opportunity to create a similar level of reform in the administration of
schools to support teaching and learning. The Roundtable is
ideally situated to provide this vision and leadership.
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Accountability. Currently, the state has developed a system that uses data to
some extent to identify where schools are working well on behalf
of students. However, the data is not particularly deep, nor does
it lend itself to raising and addressing questions that SHOULD
follow data.
With the Roundtable’s involvement in the state’s CALPADS project
(California Long-term Pupil Achievement Data System), we are starting
to build the case for a deeper and
more productive use of data related to the implementation of CALPADS.
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Best Practices. Because of NCLB, the state is
incrementally going through an
examination of its various programs to support teachers and
administrators in improving student learning and achievement. The Roundtable’s support for and knowledge of
Baldrige criteria can and will be an important vehicle for
improving decision making and professional development programs
for teachers and administrators.
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Comprehensive School Reform. Our ongoing work with
Assemblymember Goldberg on the evolving needs of workforce
preparation and education reform, former Senator Dede Alpert
and Senator Christine Kehoe on the Master Plan for K-16
Education, and other reform legislation involving charter
schools, school readiness, and alternative choices in
education form the basis of our 2005 legislative education
reform proposals.
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