State Board of Education Meeting September 11, 2025

001all right it's good to see everyone uh welcome back for day two of our september 10th 11th meeting it is september 11th and i just want to take a moment to kind of remember on all our behalf the events of september 11th in new york and how those have really changed our national landscape and to remember the victims of that day and of their families and take a moment And moving forward, we are going to have a short morning this morning. I think we're going to start with the waiver consent calendar. And we'll put the public comments slide up for waivers. We're gonna reconvene and take up waiver consent items W1 through W18. We'll now open the phone line for the public comment queue. And we'll also ask for in-person public comment. Those wanting to

002comment on the phone should call the number and use the participant access code shown on this slide. Is there any public comment in person? We have one person signed up for in-person public comment, Regina Shafoya. Hi, good morning. Yeah, so I'm Regina Chagoya of the Local 1078, Berkeley Unified, also with CFT, a union of educators and classified professionals. CFT asked that the state board approve the request of El Rancho Unified to waive the time fiscal penalty. However, we asked CDE staff reach out to the district staff to ensure that they have placed corrective measures to avoid this from happening ever again. Students were shortchanged by the lack of administrative oversight, and although their waiver makes up this time, in the future, it cannot make all impacted students instructionally whole. So thank you for listening. Thank

003you. And we do have some callers in the queue. I will open the phone line now. Again, this is for waivers one through 18. Caller with the last four digits, 0603, you are now live. Please start your public comment. You have one minute. I'm calling to Comment about the waiver regarding the moral elementary property. Is that the correct waiver we're discussing? Yes, it is. Okay. I'd like to support what Betty Winholtz has submitted to the board. And I was at the March meeting. I also spoke at the March meeting against the waiver. I don't believe it is necessary. It is not in the community's best interest. And I stand with those people who have already commented, and I believe there will be some today commenting on that. Thank you. Next caller with the last four

004digits, 1183. You are now live. Please start your public comment. You have one minute. Hi, my name is Julie Fruman, and I have two children in California public schools. I'm also a licensed therapist who works with local families navigating the challenges of raising children in a tech-saturated world. I'm here today to express concern about the way our schools are using technology. Research indicates that personal electronic devices, social media, and untested online and digital technology used by schools are eroding. I'm sorry, could you mind calling back during general public comment? We are currently taking public comment for waivers 1 through 18. Thank you. What time do we do that? Towards the end of the meeting today. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Next caller with the last four digits, 5997. And I'm sorry, they just dropped.

005So that concludes public comment. Maybe they realize that they're also public general comment. All right. Having heard all the public comment, do I have a motion? Member Rodriguez, is there another second? Member Escobedo, thank you. Show of hands for those in favor. Say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nay. Any abstentions? Motion passes. Thank you. We're now going to take up item 13, which is a pretty exciting item, actually. It's the... Assembly Bill 167 from 2021, the Vietnamese American Experiences, Cambodian American Studies, Hmong History and Cultural Studies, and Native American Studies Model Curriculum Completion. So we've been waiting to see this for some time. This is an information-only item, and it will be presented by William McGee and probably also Mike Torres of the CDE. William, it's great to see you. Let's see I'll test this mic

006are we okay perfect good morning everyone All right. Good morning. So good morning president darling Hammond vice president Glover Woods members of the board and chief deputy officer Roberson My name is William McGee deputy superintendent of the building educational success together branch and it's a pleasure to be here in this new role I appreciate the support you all have given me in my previous role and looking forward to continuing that As President Dr. Darling-Hammond mentioned, Dr. Mike Torres will be here presenting along with some county offices of education. As you walk through the lobby this morning, you saw that beautiful display by one of Mike's team members, Johanna, who greeted me and I said, I'm coming back to take some photos. This informational item before you is a culmination of work spanning three years and

007I'm looking forward to learning about this work and the public engagement covering the entire state and brings faces and voices to some of California's most vulnerable and underrepresented populations. The development process of four separate model curricula is going to be shared by the individuals who directed and coordinated the work. at the County Office of Education level. As you will hear, tens of thousands of individuals from across the state have been involved in the process. Previously, minimized voices are being expressed through the curricula, and hundreds of lesson plans and units are now available at no cost. I know when I was a principal, we really, really strived to look at how we can get students who are underrepresented to really be in the curriculum as that really supported their learning. So I would now like to

008bring up Dr. Mike Torres, Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials Division. Thank you for your time. So thank you Deputy Superintendent McGee and good morning President Darling-Hammond, Vice President Glover Woods, Chief Deputy Roberson, and all of the members of our esteemed board. Today I'm before you to share the excellent work that's been completed by our County Office of Education colleagues who have carried out the development and creation of model curricula that have been identified within Assembly Bill 167 of the Statutes of 2021. I will start off with a brief overview of the process before we get some presentations from our wonderful colleagues from the Orange County Department of Education, the Humboldt County Office of Education, and the San Diego County Office of Education. I also want to recognize that in addition to those

009esteemed colleagues who will be presenting to you today, we have multiple members sitting out in the audience today who have contributed to the development of this model curriculum because it's... It's taken quite a few people to get these voices heard into the product that we're very happy and proud to announce to you today. I also want to formally thank the members of the CDE Seaford staff, specifically Johanna Harder, Kyle Petty, and Dr. Jennifer Bentley for all of the hard work that they've gone through over the past four years to really put this into motion, because this is the first time we've done model curricula in this way before. And speaking of four years ago, even before that, this work has been a long time coming and much needed. Originally the three Southeast Asia model curricula

010that we're talking about today were enacted in Senate Bill 895 of the Statutes of 2018 by Senator Nguyen. Also, the language that enacted the Native American Studies Model Curriculum was sponsored by Assemblymember Ramos. I'd like to recognize these public servants for their vision and impact that has brought us here today with these completed model curricula that are now free for use across the state. The work was ultimately funded with the passage of Assembly Bill 167 of the 2021 Education Omnibus Trailer Bill, which allocated funding and amended four separate sections of our education code. These amended education code sections legislated the development of four separate model curriculum projects. That includes the Cambodian American Studies, the Hmong History and Cultural Studies, Vietnamese American Experiences and the Native American Studies Model Curricula. AB 167 directed the CDE with

011the State Board of Education approval to contract with a county office of education or a consortia of county offices of education for the appropriated funds for these contracts. The CDE in conjunction with the State Board of Education initiated a request for consideration process. The County Offices of Education submitted their proposals to carry out the requirements of AB 167 and the proposal submissions were evaluated, recommendations were provided and the State Board of Education approved the final awarding of contracts and I'm glad you all did because these County Offices of Education ultimately have done a phenomenal job over the past four years to put these model curricula together. The Orange County Department of Education was selected to oversee the development of the Vietnamese American Experiences, Cambodian American Studies, and the Hmong History and Cultural Studies Model Curricula.

012The Humboldt County Office of Education and the San Diego County Office of Education were then selected together to work to develop the Native American Studies Model Curriculum. Throughout the development process, authentic voices from community members and tribal nations were intentionally and extensively included in the development of the AB 167 model curricula through a series of public engagement listening sessions, as well as vetting through the statewide model curriculum coordinating council that included representation from the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education. Thank you, Member McQuillan. the California Collaborative for Educator Excellence and the Instructional Quality Commission. And we worked with the California History Social Science Project to create the platform where all of the model curricula can be found today. I also want to recognize that Thuyen Tran is sitting in the audience who

013was integral to that work. Orange County Department of Education began work on the three Southeast Asia Model Curricula in early 2022 and completed them by the legislative deadline by September 1st of 2024. Humboldt and San Diego County Offices of Education began collaboration on the Native American Studies Model Curriculum in 2022 and completed it by the legislative deadline of September 1st, 2025, just a week and a half ago. I want to take a moment, Deputy Superintendent McGee mentioned that there is artwork out in the lobby. So for those of you who have not had an opportunity to walk through the lobby, the artwork is available there for you to be able to take a look at. That was commissioned through the development of these model curricula. High resolution digital versions are then included with lessons correlated

014to them within the model curriculum. Which brings us to today. Representatives from these county offices of education who led the work are here today and are going to share their experiences with this process and we'll begin with Dr. Marika Manos and Dr. Ger Tao from Orange County. After them, we will hear from Maggie Peters from Humboldt and Dr. Stacey Block from San Diego to talk about the Native American Studies Model Curriculum Development. And you've probably heard enough from me, so passing on now to Dr. Manos and Gertel. Good morning. Thank you, Dr. Torres. On behalf of the Orange County Department of Education and Dr. Stephan Bean, our superintendent of schools, thank you for having us here today. It's such an honor. Thank you for the invitation. More than anything, I am so honored to be

015part of this work on the Cambodian American Studies Hmong History and Cultural Studies and Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curricula. We are so grateful for our partnership with the State Board of Education, the California Department of Ed, as well as all of our partners throughout the state who have made this work possible. the Instructional Quality Commission, all of the people who have given us feedback on this work. My name is Marika Manos and I'm the History Social Science Manager at the Orange County Department of Ed and I'm here with Juror Tao, one of our program specialists. So it's very, very exciting to be here. So I think Dr. Torres gave us some of the context of how this project came to be. And I think the most important piece is thinking through a county office leading

016the work of a model curriculum. And when I applied for the grant, I at that time was a contract, I was very, very adamant about creating something that was truly a model. So when we came up with our scope of work, we were looking at something that was universally designed, created for multilingual learners, created for our learners with special needs, as well as our learners who needed extensions in the classroom. And we wanted the curriculum to not only be focused and centered on Vietnamese American, Cambodian American, among American communities, but help others in the community see themselves through this curriculum, even if it wasn't centered on their communities. And what has been amazing about these curricula is that it has made that impact. So when we've been rolling out the curriculum, which we'll talk about

017toward the end of our 20 minutes, and hopefully we won't go that long, we really are making that impact with schools. So they're seeing our curriculum as possible models for other curricula in different communities of interest. So it's really exciting work. When you look at our process, the curriculum process was really centered around community organizations, educational experts, people who are scholars in Vietnamese studies, Cambodian studies, Hmong studies, as well as Cambodian American. among American and Vietnamese American educators. And so we had three teams working monthly to meet and discuss how to create the curricula, workshop topics, and then in the summer, educators wrote lessons in two iterations. We also had focus groups where people from the community came and told us what they hoped for in the curricula and then gave us resources that we

018should be pointing to. as we developed the work. So in a lot of ways this is exactly what I see as hopes and dreams for community schools curricula. It's also really amazing work for just thinking about culturally sustaining pedagogies in ways that we can connect with communities. It gives you a little bit more detail on this slide if you'd like to go back to it, but really we did a lot of iterations and revision with the statewide model curriculum coordinating committee as well as our organization groups and then we had sort of a public time period where they could revise the curriculum as well. And Juror is gonna tell you a little bit about how to access the website. Good morning. It's such a pleasure and honor to be here I just want to also

019share that today marks my two-year anniversary working with the the model curriculum project in Orange County Department of Education So I'm just so honored to be here to talk about the model curriculum So I just wanted to start off with sharing that the model curriculum is available now It's been available since for a good year now So this is the URL that will take you to the landing page and also the QR code but each of the month the Southeast Asian model cricket also has a unique URL that will take you directly to the model curriculum. So I want to share that in our model curriculum, these are the main components in each of the model curriculum. So you'll see these main components. We do, I want to start with conceptual approaches. We have this.

020one kind of frames our work in culturally sustaining and asset-based pedagogy. We also have background narratives that gives teachers and educators kind of that historical and cultural context behind each of these groups, along with implementation resources and professional learning resources. And that includes videos, scholarly videos, webinar talks for teachers to access, and our sets of lesson plans in each of our areas of studies that includes multilingual learner support. Okay, so I'm gonna kind of walk you through if you want to go on the website and walk right along with us But we also screenshot it just so I can walk you through all the components of the website So when you go on to a model curriculum website you land on the introduction So this introduction page gives you kind of a narrative that frames

021that model curricula that centers the group and then and the next tab will be four areas of study. So each of the curricula is broken down into four areas of studies. As you can see, so I'm going to walk you through the Hmong one. I'm the program specialist overseeing this project. So there's four. So the first area of study is Hmong ways of knowing. Second one is Hmong histories. Then you have Hmong refugee experiences. And that last area of study is community building, homemaking, and empowerment. And if you can see at the bottom, like I always tell teachers, I'm like, don't forget these hidden gems that are kind of in the website. So there is a glossary at the bottom that has a list of key terms that teachers can access or even teach those

022key terms to students as well. And then we also design a set of rubrics that teachers can use for assessments. And they can also, like I said, it's a K-12 curriculum, so they can modify those rubrics for us. assessments. So let's dive into in area of study. Let's say we go into area study one, Hmong ways of knowing. And you'll see, as soon as you go into that tab, you'll see some narratives. And each of these area studies will have anywhere from one to three narratives. So as you can see in this area study, there's three narratives for this one. And that centers Hmong ways of knowing. So giving teachers more context on that big theme of Hmong ways of knowing. And then, like I said, more hidden gems at the bottom. So make sure

023you keep scrolling down. This tab down here there's an implementation guidance for teachers and so that you can and it will take you to a narrative. I also want to share kind of our lesson template. We have a lesson template so each of our lessons have these components and I'll walk you through the components in a bit but we wanted to make sure that teachers have the templates that we use. Let's say they found a lesson that they really liked but taught a different subject content or a grade level so they can download our template and also modify the lessons. So I'm going to walk you to a lesson. So this is one of the lessons in the area study one. It's the Hmong family practice and values centering on birth. This is actually one.

024It's part of a mini unit, but the lessons are built so that it can be standalone. It can be kind of an continuation or it can be a standalone lesson. This lesson happens to be a part of like a mini unit of like three separate lessons, but this one centers around birth. I want to point out that there is a downloadable version of this lesson. So, you know, preference or whether you want to use the lesson on the website as it is or like if you're like me, I still like my paper copies, you can download a copy of the lesson as well to do all your markings. And then we are excited that our translation, the translations are done, but they will be uploading soon. So below kind of the lesson tab will be

025a tab that where teachers can actually download downloadable versions of the lessons in the translated language. So whether it's in Vietnamese, Cambodian, Khmer or Hmong. And then some lessons will also have, if there's a handout or a PowerPoint, they will also have those tabs as well to accompany the lesson. Okay, so the next tab is the implementation tabs. So within the implementation tab, we have narratives. You know, we know that we have teachers, it's K-12 teachers in all subject areas. So we wanted to make sure that we provided them, how do you implement this, not just in an ELA classroom, a history, social science, but also like a world language and an ethnic studies course. So we have narratives that will walk teachers through on how can you implement these lessons within your certain subject

026area. And at the end of these narratives, there's also sample course outlines. Let's say you wanted to design a semester-long, a year-long ethnic studies course. We have a template for them to use. We also have our conceptual approaches that I shared earlier. Our work centers around culture sustaining and asset base. And then also reminding why we do this work, right, is that joy and community building piece. So yeah, so I know that's a quick and dirty walkthrough of the website. There's so many great stuff on the website. And with teachers, every time we walk them through, they find something new. We give them time. I think the thing is, the beauty about this website is you just need to jump in and really just explore. There's so many good pieces. Like I said, every area

027of studies has anywhere from 10 to 20 lessons. And so there's a lot of resources. And we tell teachers, this is not something extra. This is something that can supplement your already existing ELA, history, social science, ethnic studies. world language course. So like I said, I think the biggest exciting piece for me is that the translations will be ready soon. So our world language, our DLI teachers will also be able to implement this in their classrooms really soon. Thank you, Dr. Tao. The other big piece that we've started leading last year is sort of rollout conferences to get teachers. access to the curriculum. There's a lot there so without having some time thinking about the curriculum using it. people aren't going to use it. So we have had major statewide rollout conferences. We're inviting teachers

028and then lots of students have come and performed or shared their experience using the curriculum. We had students pilot the curriculum and this year we'll have another conference in Stockton on the Cambodian American Studies but as you can see last year Santa Clara hosted a conference in San Jose and we hosted a conference in Long Beach and we're specifically choosing the areas where there's larger communities of interest but we will be rolling out the curriculum in multiple ways and we've gotten lots of requests by districts to come out. Dr. Tao will be going to Fresno next month to do a deeper dive after their Fresno conference are gonna do some collaborative planning. So it's really exciting the level of engagement that our educators have had and also our students. And so you can see on

029the Hmong project, we've had conferences in Merced and Fresno. We had a small conference in Chico partnering with Butte County Office of Ed and this year we will have another conference in Fresno and we're working on a Cal State Chico event. We're probably gonna have a DLI conference. We have a lot of excitement around this project and we really wanna sustain all three curricula for students and teachers. We are kicking off OCD's first conference on the Vietnamese American experiences in Little Saigon, two weeks away in Garden Grove. So if anybody wants to come down, it's free to attend. We would love to have you. And all the conferences include really exciting. interactive experiences. So for example, in the Garden Grove Conference, we will have a tour of Little Saigon. We will have a few museum

030spots at our Vietnamese Heritage Museum with one of our partners. And then we will also have a mural walk as well. And then we have lots of exhibitors who are coming for free that are Viet facing and AAPI facing as well. So you can see we're also going to have a San Diego conference. And what's not on here is we are hoping to have enough money to have a San Francisco conference this year on the Vietnamese experiences. So be on the lookout. And then Drew's going to just tell you quickly about a few of our oral history projects. Yeah, so... you know we really like this is such a community project and that's kind of the beauty of it so we've just gotten a lot of great ideas from our partners so actually for each

031of our project there's additional supplemental resources that accompanies the curriculum so for the Vietnamese American experiences we have a set about 28 oral history videos that are these these ones are actually posted on the model curriculum itself but we're providing teachers with these additional oral history so they're teachers and students are accessing real stories from our community members within each of these communities. So this model, the Vietnamese oral history project was created in time for us to actually implement these into the model curriculum. And not only it's not just a video, but it has kind of grouped them into which areas of study does it fall into and what are some key terms. As a classroom teacher, if I look at this, I'm like, oh, I need a video about this topic, I can go

032and look at the key terms and go, this is a perfect video for what I'm teaching. And the next example for the Cambodia Town, so this actually is experience that came out of the conference. Not only did the teachers get to experience the tour of Cambodia Town, but they actually, our partners recorded the experience. So now everybody can experience the tour itself too. So we have two versions of it. There's a longer version, but it's an abbreviated version. So it's just kind of fun to see that something that's... started at the conference is now an additional resource for the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum. And very similarly to The we had a panel at the Fresno conference and these are these three panelists are part of a refugee survival of the refugee panel so they

033were part of the panel and these three were they Were so honored to be able to share their story at the conference, but they're like we want our stories to live on Is there any way that these stories can be? capture so that it can be shared with generations to come. So we did this kind of like mini pilot of an oral history project for the Hmong project. And that just triggered more interest from the community. we have so many people that also want to share their stories, right? So that developed into a bigger oral history project for the Hmong project. So it's titled Telling the Hmong American Story, and it's in the process right now. So about 27 more interviews are being set up to capture stories within the Hmong community. So that will

034be done in time for our Sacramento conference in March of 2026. So those participants will be the first to actually Access is the set of 30 oral history project. I mean of videos So I know that we're a little over on time. We will be back if you have questions. And then please come and see us at any of our events. And if you have questions, Dr. Tao, I am available. Tori Fu, Joshua Brown, and Matt O'Donnell on our team, we're all available to support you. And thank you, thank you, thank you for having us. Thank you. All right, thank you so much Orange County Department of Education for that amazing presentation. We're going to move on to talk about, that's as important, the Native American Studies Model Curriculum. And I'm going to invite Dr.

035Stacey Block up and Becky Peterson from Humboldt County Office of Education. No speaker's notes today. Here we go. Are you clean? Good morning, President, Dr. Darling-Hammond, and the esteemed members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Maggie Peters. I am the learning specialist at Humboldt County Office of Education, working on the Native American Studies Model Curriculum Project. And I was lucky enough to have the support of the Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Colby Smart, who's joining me today in the audience. CO, my name is Stacy Block. I'm an enrolled citizen of Cherokee Nation, also serve on tribal council for our at-large group in Southern California. And I work at San Diego County Office of Ed. I'm honored to have Taylor Magoza here with me and also just want to

036acknowledge Dr. Sarisa, our superintendent, and also Dr. Gothold, his leadership. He is Native American also and wanted to acknowledge that. We have some representatives. also hear from us from Bonzel Unified. So we have Evan. Pepper, a Native American high schooler representing our Native American high schoolers across the state. We have John Budd Machado here, a Paula tribal member and also a Kapenyo language instructor. And then from Bonzel High School representing our teachers, Greg Henschliff. He was an author with the curriculum and also San Diego County Teacher of the Year. I thought he should have got State Teacher of the Year, but that's my two cents. So thank you. We want to begin today by acknowledging, sorry, we're going to try to figure out how to advance slides. Okay, perfect. We want to begin today by

037acknowledging that every school campus in California exists within the traditional homelands of one or more Native American tribes. Here in Sacramento, we are gathered on the ancestral lands of the Nisenan people as well as the homelands of the Potwin, Miwok, and Maidu peoples who have stewarded this region since time immemorial and who continue to live and thrive and contribute to California today. It is an honor to share the highlights of the California Native American Studies Model Curriculum, or what we call the NASMIC, to reflect on our responsibility to ensure all California students learn accurate, respectful histories of the First Peoples of this land. The NASMIC marks a historical achievement. For too long, the experiences and contributions of California's tribal nations have been underrepresented or misrepresented in our schools. This curriculum represents a turning point, a

038fresh approach to truth-telling that elevates native voices and gives educators the resources to share accurate and meaningful stories. It ensures generations of students will grow up with deeper understanding of the diverse histories and contemporary realities of native peoples. The NASMHC is a forward-looking collection of TK through 12 resources, lesson plans, primary resources, teaching strategies, and professional learning opportunities, all designed to help educators teach Native American studies with accuracy and cultural integrity. San Diego and Humboldt County Offices of Education were honored to serve as lead agencies, but the curriculum's success rests upon relationship building. From the start we approached this work with humility knowing that earning the trust of tribal nations requires action accountability and genuine partnership Understanding that native education must be led by native voices the county offices Hired you know native leaders such

039as myself and Stacy to guide its development We ensured that the Native American Studies is not written about native peoples, but created with them and by them The NASMHIC is crucial in cultivating belonging, building school environments where every student feels seen and valued, a place where learning is healing. This affirmation of community prepares all students to be informed global citizens, helps close opportunity gaps, and strengthens the appreciation for the richness of our native cultures here in California. The NASMHIC meets the urgent need for the culturally responsive place-based resources. This curriculum improves our presentation, fosters inclusive classrooms, and equips teachers to share the diverse histories and contributions of California native peoples in a way that really helps them feel supported. Research tells us that culturally meaningful curriculum improves engagement, strengthens identity development, and leads to higher

040academic success, evidenced in reduced truancy and increased attendance and graduation rates. This curriculum truly is a gift to California's future. It promises our classrooms can tell a fuller, more honest story of the state's history, even when that truth is difficult. Through this commitment students in California can now appreciate and celebrate native knowledge in our educational spaces Now we get into the fun part The NASMIC is now available through a dedicated website giving educators access to these incredible resources We are grateful to the California Department of Education and UC Davis teams for supporting this effort and especially to twin Tran and crim G singh Gulladi for their skill and commitment to bringing this website to life The NASMIC landing page features a newly commissioned video offering a visual timeline of California history through a native perspective,

041a powerful way to ground the curriculum in truth and native voices. The NASMIC also elevates native cultures through powerful imagery of California native artists whose art demonstrates cultural diversity, identity, and resilience to the curriculum. The scope of the NASMIC is significant. Over 400 cross-curricular lessons, including 150 lesson plans for TK through five, 100 for grades six through eight, and 164 for grades nine through 12. At its heart, the curriculum honors indigenous ways of knowing. Lessons highlight indigenous science, such as cultural fire, land stewardship, food sovereignty, and land-based learning. Storytelling, lifeways, song, dance, visual arts, and languages are not treated as enrichment, but as central to teaching. Students have the opportunity to experience indigenous knowledge as a living and vital system that continues to shape science, governance, and civics' lives today. Lessons deepen learning through place

042and land-based approaches, cooperative and project-based instruction, and social justice and civic engagement. They explore powerful themes identified through the initial outreach with Native communities, such as identity, resilience, sovereignty, and relationships with the land. connecting students to culture, history, and provide essential visual resources that bring the curriculum to life. Many NASMICC lessons include comprehensive Google Slides to support instruction. Some lessons are art and or native language integrated. For example, in this lesson, It highlights the collaboration between Lynn Risling, a Hupa Yoruk Karuk artist, and Karuk linguist Julian Lang, blending language and visual art to deepen cultural understanding. So I know that this image is kind of small on your screens, but you can see the little audio files in there. So it's an interactive slide. We are also excited to share that the guiding framework of

043our units and lessons are the seven essential understandings for California Indian history and culture. These are videos, microcourses, and professional learning aligned to this framework. At the high school level, we want to highlight our biggest unit is the tribal government and civics unit. This is a 29 lesson unit that parallels the California Indian education blanket exercise and examines American Indian policy and colonial legacy, connecting to the past and present and ways to prepare students for civic life and deeper understanding of sovereignty and government relationships. Humboldt and San Diego County Office of Education extend our greatest and deepest gratitude to all those that made this a reality. We are here representing them. There are hundreds of partners that supported this effort and continue to support in upcoming professional learning. At the heart of this, we honor

044legislative leaders, including Assemblymember James Ramos and California Senator Monique Limon. whose advocacy created the pathway for this work. This work is also made possible because of the leadership and vision of so many. Assemblymember Ramos shared as the first Native American elected to the California State Legislature that it has been a powerful voice for him. reminding us that there's no way that you can learn about the history of California unless you include California's first people. We hope that we've made him proud with this. We acknowledge that and we want to thank the model state model curriculum coordinating council and West Ed for their commitment and their guidance through this entire process. At the heart of this are three brilliant, beautiful women. It is a heartfelt appreciation that we thank and acknowledge three incredible California native women.

045The NASMHIC guiding leaders are Dr. Jolie Proffitt, who's Lisenyo, Payacowichum, and Tongva, Nicole Lim, who is Pomo, and Dr. Kutcha Rizlingbaldi, who is Hoopa, Karuk, and Yurok tribes. They have shaped this work and their expertise with tribal governance and sovereignty, law, cultural preservation, and community engagement. Their leadership ensures that NASMIC is authentic, culturally grounded, and rooted in indigenous methodologies. This is the first time that native communities themselves are recognized. and their rightful authorities and authors in shaping how their histories and cultures are taught in California schools. We hope there is more to come. We look forward to formally blanketing and honoring each of these three women at upcoming professional learning. Dr. Profis explains that this curriculum is not just about what we teach, but it's how we teach. It's place-based and respect for sovereignty. NASMHIC

046has been created through collective listening sessions, over 400 of them, with tribal communities, educators, Native American university faculty, Native students and families, elders, and cultural bearers. This is an intergenerationally authored curriculum connecting ancestral knowledge and contemporary experience. Elders and youth contributed to oral stories. also cultural artifacts and traditional stories. The programs like the Tribal Youth Ambassadors at California Indian Museum and Cultural Centers were young youth that helped shape and drive the curriculum for several of the units. Tribal engagement and consultation were at the center of this work. Because the expertise lies within the tribes themselves, we did every effort to have them also author the curriculum. Nicole Lim shares that Native communities must be the ones to define who and what is taught in the history, that sovereignty is a practice that erases, that sovereignty

047is a practice as an opportunity to transform education so it no longer erases Native peoples, but instead centers their voices, methodologies, and lived experiences. It is with the greatest appreciation and humble appreciation that we thank the California tribes and tribal leaders and also tribal communities, including tribal agencies, Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association and the California Tribal Chairman's Association for their vision, guidance, and shaping NASMICC. These are just some of the people that we would like to highlight. We also realize that this is a deeply rooted curriculum in sovereignty, cultural integrity, and voices of Native community. Here are just some more of the tribes and tribal partners that we'd like to highlight. NASMICC is our opportunity now to do better in classrooms. It's tribally developed, rooted from Native leadership and designed to ensure truth, respect, and

048sovereignty as we guide and teach. Tribal education directors and staff have been monumental supporters to share their tribal curriculum, media, and resources. We also acknowledge and thank hundreds of Native educators, cultural knowledge holders, teachers, students, families, and community partners for their voices, wisdom, and collaboration. Together, this collective of leaders, educators, and communities have created a resource that uplifts Native voices and ensures that all California students in the classroom are hearing truth, inclusivity, respect, and belonging. We want to share some highlights of professional learning. The curriculum alone is not enough. That's why NASMIC has paired robust professional learning for educators. NASMIC offers a wide range of professional learning opportunities to support teaching and authenticity with confidence. Humboldt will be starting with offering online NASMIC webinars and in-person carrying our voices forward, introduction to NASMIC professional learning.

049They're also planning a series of best strategies for teaching resources of NASMIC. San Diego will continue to offer our seven-month paid professional learning with California Indian Educational Leaders Pathwork. We are starting this on September 30th for cohort two. Last year, there were representatives from 25 districts and 20 tribes across the state of California. We are able to reach these participants by federal funds that were funding this. SDCOE will also host Native Ways of Knowing microcourses. Educators can engage in weekly Native Ways of Knowing book club webinars. We also have Native voices and stories and knowledge shared within it. In the last three years, we've hosted over 200 free professional learnings within Native Ways of Knowing through an Office of Indian Education US Department of Ed grant. And over 15,000 educators and administrators have participated in

050the professional learning a half million students and families in California. Starting in November, San Diego will be working with California Indian Museum and Cultural Center to co-host free two-day Seeds of Knowledge cultural sustaining teaching institutes. There'll be over 12 of these hosted throughout California over the next two years. The curriculum creates a space for student voice and agency. Students see themselves in their identi... identities affirmed while non-native students gain more accurate and empathetic understanding of California history. As we think about our hopes for the futures, I want to acknowledge my mother how I did this work. She was a tribal education teacher in Ventura County and also a classroom teacher for over 50 years. She has walked on, but as her only child, I'm here to honor the work of her. I'm humbly asking the

051State Board of Education to please consider funding sustained professional learning for NASMICC and other tribally driven programs. We're honored to be able to have SD. We're honored to have California Department of Education support and also the state superintendent to be able to support this. We're asking on behalf of Native students and families to invest in Native literacy in California. I recently co-authored a Washington State Native Literacy Plan and we want to do the same in California. As Dr. Pedro Neguera, my mentor, has taught us that when a student is literate, it's the pathway to allow the student to control their future. Our native students in California struggle the most in this area. Please consider literacy-based approaches for native students. And more importantly, The commitment to NASMHIC is more than a curriculum. It's a call for

052courage, collaboration, and commitment. For schools, this is a chance to lead the nation in authentic educational reform. School leaders must prioritize ongoing professional learning, authentic tribal consultation, and sustain partnerships with native nations and tribes and tribal communities. Educators, this is an opportunity to reflect on your own biases, question long-held narratives, and commit to learning alongside your students. And most importantly, this is a gift for students. It's a promise that their classrooms can be places where the voices of California native first people are heard, honored, and celebrated. The Native American Studies Model Curriculum is already a remarkable achievement, a testament to what can be accomplished when we take action. build genuine partnerships, and center native voices in education. At the same time, we recognize that the current curriculum does not yet represent all tribes or regions

053of the state. Rather than a finished product, the NASMHC should be seen as a catalyst, a beginning of a continued commitment to collaboration with native peoples and tribes, and to ensuring that cultural accurate, place-based Native American education is a permanent funded part of California's educational system. We hope next steps include continued commitment to professional development, the creation of Native American studies standards, and a statewide goal to complete 12, TTA through 12 curriculum for each tribe and or region. As communities learn about this resource, the interest to be involved will grow, as I think the Southeast Asian model curriculum's demonstrated. By sustaining this work, We can ensure all students can grow up with the appreciation for native people and accurate understanding of California's history. We can fulfill our promise to future generations of this state to

054teach compassionately, respectfully, and honor the importance of integrity in all classrooms. Thank you so much. Thank you. We have bags that have a book from one of our lead authors, William Bauer. He wrote We Are the Land. So we have a book for all of you. And we also have some printed materials that provide an overview of it. So thank you so much. Thank you so much, Dr. Manos, Dr. Tao, Maggie Peters, Dr. Block for that presentation. I also want to... In addition to thanking Member McQuillan for being a member of the Model Curriculum Coordinating Council, also want to recognize Aline Allison-Zarrea for all of the wonderful feedback she's provided to improve this model curriculum along the way. We're all here, happy to answer any questions if you have any. First, we just want to

055thank you for the wonderful presentations. And then we want to put the public comment slide up so that those who'd like to call in can queue up for public comment with the phone number and access code on the slide I'm showing now. And while we're waiting, I want to ask our liaison, Member McQuillan, if he has some initial comments. I just want to say congratulations to the projects, Orange County, Humboldt County, San Diego County offices, congratulations on. on all the work in this finish line that may not be the finish line, but a great start. I appreciate the... the work in helping make visible some of the invisible students in our state and families that oftentimes are not seen. So this gives a voice to those families and makes them a part of the classrooms

056with the curriculum. I know there are lots of rollout activities happening and I appreciate that effort. I also know that it's, you know, one of the questions one of our newest members asked here recently was, what's been the most meaningful project that I've been a part of as a State Board of Education? I could say sitting on this curriculum committee has been that for me so far, so I appreciate that. And I hope, you know, I know there's, in California there's over 120 federally recognized tribes and what was shared here today is that there are many tribes that have not been a part of the curriculum and there's work to be done and I hope we can challenge ourselves to finish the work and continue on. So again, congratulations and to all of you and

057the work you've done. Thank you. Very, very powerful. Very, very powerful work. And we appreciate so much both the presentations and the ways in which it will move forward in the state. I think we want to see if there's any public comment in the room and then on the phone. We do not have any public comment in the room. And do we have any on the phone? There is one caller in the queue. I will open the phone line now. Caller with the last four digits 1183, you are now live. Please start your public comment. You have one minute. It's Julie Fruman again. Thank you for your time and for your attention to these issues. As I said, I have two kids in public schools in California, and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist.

058I am concerned about the way technology is being rolled out. I apologize for interrupting again. Could you please call back during general public comment, which is item number 15? Okay. Sorry. Thank you so much. Sorry about that. All right. No further public comment. We're open for any discussion. This is an information item, but I wanted to see if anybody has questions or comments. All right. Member Orozco-Gonzalez, and then I saw Member Yoshimoto-Towery. Thank you for such a beautiful presentation. And as I'm listening to the presentation, I think the challenge now is implementation of this wonderful curriculum that was so thoughtfully invested in. We need to make sure teachers across the state know about these resources, feel prepared to use them, have the professional development to make them come alive in the classroom. Otherwise, these valuable

059materials stay. risk staying on a website instead of shaping instruction. This is an opportunity to both enrich learning and build belonging for all students. So investing in professional development for teachers is investing in the work and it continues to move forward and take root. Which I think is where it needs to be so as I love the rollout I saw that it's across the state and the more information we can provide leas to support teachers to attend These events and maybe have teacher leadership groups take some professional development so they can bring it back to their to their Districts would be essential for this work to really start building capacity in the classrooms So I'm looking forward to having some investment in professional development for teachers. Member Yoshimoto-Towery? Good morning. I just wanted to echo

060my congratulations to all the teams and the partners that have worked on both of these projects. Even in 2025, I think that there's still a lot of education that needs to occur when it comes to people thinking and having misconceptions about groups of people, thinking that groups of people are monoliths as opposed to having really diverse aspects and really beauty about... what makes up different groups of people. I think it's absolutely beautiful the way you've highlighted the diversity and the uniqueness of our people. And also, when we do that, we also understand connections across different groups as well. And I thought the way you did it was very comprehensive. You addressed intersectionality, intergenerational aspects of the work, and that really came through. And I think that these are resources that will transcend time and be

061available. I would agree with Member Orozco-Gonzalez about the dissemination aspect, so if there's any way we can support. please feel free to let us know. And I think we often talk about asset-based education as opposed to deficit-based. And so there was a wealth of, you could see the wisdom and really the ancestral wisdom that came from the projects, which I just wanted to highlight as well. So thank you for the rich and deep work and for thinking about also helping educators think about how to implement that in different areas of the curriculum. I think that was also important. Thank you. Thank you, and I have Vice President Glover Woods, Member Olkin, Member Rodriguez. This is also anybody. I think I've got a lot of hands up. Okay, I'm going to try to keep track. Vice

062President Glover Woods. Thank you. First, again, thank you so much to all of the presenters today and for those who you represent who are not in the room. I know this was definitely a work of heart as well as hard work. work and I couldn't be prouder to be an educator in the state of California after hearing this presentation and just looking at how we embrace and uplift the diversity, the great diversity in our state and ensure how essential it is that all are educated in the lived experiences of all those who make up our wonderful state. So thank you so very much. And I will just piggyback off of Member Orozco-Gonzalez's statement around implementation and I just to encourage all those who are a part of the project on really spending some additional opportunity

063on how do we make sure that this work gets in the hands of teachers and gets in front of students. It is so rich. And I challenge us to think of spaces where administrators are gathering in conferences and gatherings so that they are aware. that this model curricula is available and how they can support their teachers in implementing it in their classrooms. And I also, I know this is not in the purview of this board, but I'm encouraging our teacher preparation programs. How do they link into knowing as they're preparing teachers. that these curricula are available and how to go about utilizing them appropriately and embedding them in their lesson planning and different courses of study that they're doing. So I'm just encouraging, I think just kind of throwing it out there to please engage

064in all areas and aspects that touch. education so that we can be sure that these rich resources and the time and sacrifice that has gone into developing them doesn't just sit not getting to its fullest potential. Thank you. Member Oken. Thank you. I just want to, I'll first echo all the thanks and congratulations and A number of us have said, boy, we wish we were in school now. And how much better we would understand the world around us and our state. So thank you. And then I have, I think, easy request, which is in terms of the... dissemination of the materials. We saw on slides there's quite a few celebrations and presentations coming up for the different curricula and I wondered if there's some place you could point us to where we could see all

065of those so that we could try to attend or encourage our colleagues to do so. I see you nodding, Mike, do you wanna speak to that? Do you wanna answer that? Absolutely. Yeah, we can definitely forward to Executive Director Allen links to share with the State Board of Education. Terrific. I have Member Rodriguez, Member J.K., and Member Lewis, and Member Escobedo, yeah? Did I miss anybody? All right. Good morning, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for such a beautiful presentation that filled me with hope and everything that has been said I echo that and I especially want to highlight the first presentation with the speaking about community and going out and reaching out to the community bringing in the voices the oral histories I think is just so powerful

066and the tie into having that be a model for community schools, which moves into the place-based education from the second presentation. You know how we belong to an area and the First Peoples, the place and where we're from and how much that matters to who we are. So I just wanted to highlight that and highlight the word that was used with urgent, right, that this is urgent. And so again, to echo what my... Fellow member Orozco-Gonzalez said this information, this curriculum, the heart, and all of the love that was put into this, it's urgent that it reaches our communities. And thank you, thank you so much. Member Ejeke. Yes, I just want to first highlight or echo all the things that have been said. And I also want to specifically comment about the NASB. because

067Native Americans, they make up such a crucial foundation of the U.S. and California, and yet, at least in the U.S. history lessons that my school offers and across the state, there's very, very little content that focuses on the resilience of Native Americans. And so I'm so, so excited to see this project being turned into fruition. I'm sure... I know that a lot of my classmates would benefit from taking these courses and lessons. And I also really want to thank you guys for making this accessible to CA students and incorporating student voices inside the curriculum. I think it's just awesome work. So thank you. Thank you, Member Lewis. Thank you. First of all, I just want to echo the thanks for all the work that the county offices of education have done in putting together this

068curriculum. The passion that the presenters presented with really showed through, and it really showed your commitment to the work, so I really appreciate that. And also to echo what's already been said about the support for teachers and implementation and continued and sustained performance. professional development are all important, but I think I go back to Dr. McGee's comments when he introduced the topic about how it's serving marginalized students who are underrepresented and don't see themselves in the curriculum and how it builds up their confidence, their pride, their self-esteem and helps them to be better learners. But it also helps students outside of these cultures too. to begin to understand and appreciate the students that they go to school with. Because sometimes we fear and we don't appreciate what we don't understand. And I hate the word

069tolerance to be tolerance of others. I don't like that word. I like to be appreciative and acceptance. And I think what this curriculum is going to do is to enforce and enhance that, not only with our students, but also with the educators and people within the community. So thank you for this. And I'm one of those people that Sharon talked about that wish I was in the classroom again because I'm jealous of the students getting this curriculum. But thank you so much. This is really feel good. agenda item thank you. Member Escobedo. And thank you for the hard work and really a symbol of love right of who we are as people. And just wondering, and I agree with the implementation, but if there's a way to incentivize this. We have CELA by literacy. Maybe

070students can earn a badge of understanding who we are. Any way to incentivize this curriculum where students will thirst and want to be part of this. we've all been in many graduations and we know how proud the students are when they've accomplished certain studies or whatever but if this can be part of a larger system that students are recognized and accomplishing it would be great i don't want this to be just just another binder somewhere right so thank you any other comments yes member mcquillan All right, thank you. I agree with all the comments so far. It's very timely. This curriculum is rolling out with the new state graduation requirement on ethnic studies, so we appreciate that. Some of the lessons are remade and redone with new information in them, and some of you know

071that just not too long ago, it was a... Native tribal children were sent to boarding schools in California, and there are new lessons on that with the grave sites being uncovered and those children being sent home. One of the lessons focuses on that and the children being sent home to their homelands after they were unearthed and pretty heavy stuff. shares the real history in California that along with nation building and some of the positive aspects of tribes right now and what's going on. So again, I appreciate it. Appreciate all the work from California Department of Education and WestEd in supporting this development. So thank you. I did want to add, as you began to, Member McQuillan, that this really does expand and deepen our ethnic studies curriculum. And schools could decide how to offer a

072variety of courses, a variety of options and strategies. It's not that some places seem to think you have to adopt one course. It's really about... providing access to deep learning in multiple areas. And students could take more than one course and engage in multiple ways. So it's a really important step, I think, in expanding and deepening access to the kinds of curricula that allow students to learn more deeply about themselves and the rest of their colleagues in California and to develop a sense of the human. that is so important to all of us. So we really just totally appreciate this as you can see. It's also the handouts about all the professional learning coming up. We can see that that's been well planned and we're very eager to see it roll out across the state.

073And with that, thank you so much, Mike, and to all the presenters and to all the people who supported them. And at this moment, we're going to take up item 14. which is the appeal of the denial of a petition for the establishment of a classroom-based charter school pursuant to California Education Code section 47605K2. And this is the consideration of evidence to hear or summarily deny the appeal of Tustin International Charter School, which was denied by the governing board of the Tustin Unified School District and the Orange County Board of Education. And this item will be presented again by Rick Reyes of the CDE. Rick, please begin. Good morning and hello again, members of the board, and hello, Chief Deputy Roberson. My name is Rick Reyes, Director of the Charter Schools Division of the CDE,

074presenting item 14, the appeal of the denial of a petition for the establishment of Tustin International Charter School. So this item mirrors the first charter item from yesterday. In this item, the board will consider whether to hear the appeal of the denial of the petition to establish Tustin International Charter School. Pursuant to education code, the state board shall either decide either that there is sufficient evidence to hear the appeal of Tustin International or to summarily deny review of the appeal to establish Tustin International. If the board decides to hear the appeal, the matter will be heard at the next meeting on November 5th and 6th. If this state board summarily denies review of the appeal, the decisions of the district and county will stand. As a matter of background, the petition for establishment of Tustin

075International was denied by the Tustin Unified School District on December 19th, 2024, by a vote of four to one. Tustin International submitted its petition to the Orange County Board of Education. which denied the petition on April 2nd, 2025 by a vote of four to one. And Tustin International submitted its appeal to the California State Board of Education on May 2nd, 2025. The CDE recommends that the board summarily deny review of the Tustin International appeal. Based on a review of Tustin International's written submission and its accompanying documents, the appeal does not comply with legal requirements and therefore does not provide sufficient evidence for the board to hear the appeal pursuant to Education Code. At its August 12th meeting, the CDE's presentation to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools included a proposed recommendation that the board hear

076the appeal. At that meeting, both the district and the county stated that Tustin International did not request the documentary record as required by education code. And without the documentary record prepared in accordance with statute, the Tustin International appeal is incomplete and lacks sufficient evidence to be heard. The ACCS then voted six to zero with two abstentions to recommend that the state board summarily deny the appeal. Taking a look at the Education Code where the requirements for appeals are laid out. It states that the petitioner shall submit the petition to the State Board within 30 days of a denial by the County Board of Education. The petitioner shall include the findings and the documentary record from the governing board of the school district and the county with its written submission detailing with specific citations how the

077governing board of the school district and the county board abused their education or their discretion, excuse me. The governing board of the school district and the county board of education shall prepare the documentary record including transcripts of the hearing. of the governing board of the school district and the county board of education where they denied the charter and at the request of the petitioner. The documentary record shall be prepared no later by the governing board, or shall be prepared by the governing board of the school district and county board of education no later than 10 days after the request of the petitioner is made. So laying out here that statute clearly indicates that the petitioner is to make the request for the documentary record. At the ACCS meeting, the district and county stated that the

078petitioner did not request the documentary record as required by law. After the ACCS meeting, the CDE requested clarification from Tustin International, the district, and the county. The county and the district responded via email to the CDE and confirmed they did not receive a request to prepare the documentary record for the appeal. Tustin International provided email documentation in response to the CDE's request and CDE reviewed the documents provided and could not verify that Tustin International requested the documentary record from the district or the county as required by law. And so the CDE concludes the Tustin International appeal does not meet legal requirements set forth in education code and fails to present sufficient evidence to hear the appeal. Based on the CDE's review of Tustin International's written submission and the evidence presented in the submission of the

079appeal, the CDE finds that the appeal does not comply with legal requirements and therefore does not provide sufficient evidence for the board to hear the appeal. And the CDE recommends that the board summarily deny review of the appeal. And we are here if you have any questions. At this point, I think, although the... State board is not legally required to hold a public hearing in this matter We'd like to ensure that the parties have the opportunity to present to the SBE So therefore the charter school will have ten minutes to make a presentation followed by the district and County Board of Education who have a combined total of ten minutes to make a presentation And then there will be an opportunity for public comment for members of the public or not part of either presentation

080petitioners representing the charter school Are they present? So there is no one present to make their presentation from the charter school. Representatives from the district and county, would you like to make a presentation? You have a combined 10 minutes total to present. There you are. You can't miss it, right? Good morning, members of the board. Suki Oluwalia, council for the Test and Unified School District. On behalf of the district board. We respectfully request that this board follow the CDE and ACCS's recommendation and summarily deny this appeal. This appeal should be denied because neither the district nor the OCBOE board abuse their discretion when denying the petition. As noted in our written opposition and as noted in the joint communication that was submitted last week by the district and the county, There simply is no documentary

081record to support this appeal. Without transcripts and citations, it's simply impossible for either party to respond to the allegations. Mr. Rollin, on behalf of the county, will elaborate on that matter in his comments. Therefore, I'd like to focus my comments on behalf of the manner in which the district reviewed the two petitions that were submitted by TICS. In both instances, the district treated the lead petitioner and his colleagues in a professional and respectful manner. We understand that charters are part of the education landscape and we take the responsibility of reviewing those petitions in a fair and thorough manner. And we did that on both occasions. During your consideration, please keep in mind that it is the petitioner's burden to demonstrate that there was an abuse of discretion. And it's only upon the finding of that

082that those decisions can be overturned. To overturn these local decisions, The petitioner must demonstrate how each and every finding was not supported by the evidence, and this appeal has not met that burden. AB 1505 is clear that once a local agency has made a decision, it can only be overturned upon a finding of an abuse of discretion. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Litvin, who is part of the review team on both petitions. Good morning, Board President, Dr. Darling-Hammond, and honorable members of the board. My name is Dr. Grant Litvin. I'm an assistant superintendent in the Tustin Unified School District. I've worked in the district for 14 years. It's where I live, and I have six children that have or attend TUSD schools. TUSD is familiar with charter schools. There

083are many examples in Orange County. We wanted to make sure that we physically came up here today to assure the board that we're not an anti-charter district. We do, however, have strong programs and schools throughout our district, and we want to clarify that this application was denied on merit. Our staff and board remain professional at all times, and all relevant processes were followed by TUSD. In TUSD, we take a lot of pride as a district staff in being responsive to our community. TUSD has a strong history of starting and running thematic programs, including Mandarin and Spanish immersion programs. We also have a history of listening to student and parent interest and responding well. We had a team of staff members look at this particular application, and while we very much respect the individuals behind this

084effort, the application itself was not strong enough for us to support. We again denied the application solely on merit, supported by facts and law. We also appreciate the CDE's recommendation to summarily deny this appeal as well. I'm here as a representative of TUSD's leadership team. and I attended the ACCS hearing a couple weeks ago as well. We wanted to assure you all that we take this entire process seriously and ask that you deny this appeal. Thank you. Thank you very much. Honorable members of the board, President Darling-Hammond, my name is Greg Roland, and I'm accompanied by Araceli Chastain, the executive director of our charter school unit, and we are here to respectfully request the board uphold CDE's denial. and the request to summarily deny. This slide shows the statutory requirements for an appeal. TICS was

085required to request and submit a documentary record, including a written transcript demonstrating an abuse of discretion. Simply stated, they did none of that. They did not request a record from Tustin. They did not request a record from the county board. They submitted a written transcript, but from a separate meeting with separate parties a year earlier. And they submitted a YouTube hyperlink. Now, we have had media and digital technology in this country for years, but all serious appellate tribunals require a written transcript. And there's a good reason for that. The YouTube videos lack pagination, citation, searchability, accuracy. They are subject to technological error and manipulation. And only parties with the bandwidth and equipment can use them. ACCS seemed to summarily reject the YouTube video as a proper record because they understood that it would cause an

086increased workload. for the parties, for ACCS, for CDE, and for this board. And the confusion that they could cause would cause appeals on top of appeals. And again, there's no specific citation. It's abundantly unclear on the evidence upon which TICS relies. They asked Tustin, they asked the county board to find their evidence. If there's a needle in a haystack, we have to find it. Abuse of discretion. This is our theme, the crux of our case, our bottom line. They are required to demonstrate an abuse of discretion. They didn't meet that standard. They didn't even meet the most minimal standard of submitting a transfer for the correct meeting. ACCS witnessed what Tustin witnessed, what the county board witnessed, is a charter school that was simply... unfamiliar with the most basic tenets of law, procedure, and process.

087As we said on August 12th, before ACCS, if not this record, no request, no transcript, wrong meeting, then what record would justify summary denial? We respectfully request you uphold CDE's recommendation. Thank you. If that concludes the presentations, we'd like to open the phone line for public comment. Members of the public wishing to provide comment on this item who were not part of the presentation may do so by calling the telephone number and using the access code provided on the slide that is shown now. While we're waiting, I'd like to ask our liaisons, Vice President Glover Woods and Member Olkin, if they have any initial comments. Again, I'll make my comments very brief. I believe that we see there were procedural... pieces that were not followed in the submission of the appeal documents and as a

088result doesn't give the board basis to go forward and hear the appeal. I have nothing to add. All right. Thank you very much. At this point, we want to see if there's any public comment in the room or on the phone. There are two people signed up for in-person public comment. Please remember to state your name and affiliation for the record when it's your turn to speak. Will the following please line up at the microphone? Regina Chagoya and Lorraine Richards. You have one minute. Members of the Commission, I'm Regina Chagoya with CFT, a union of educators and classified professionals. Tessin International Charter failed to follow the required procedure to request the documentary record from the district and county and submit it with their appeal. And therefore the appeal is not valid. CFT asks that the

089State Board affirm the decision to deny the petition made at the local levels by both the Tuscan Unified School District and the Orange County Board of Education. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Lorraine Richards and I'm here representing California Teachers Association as a classroom teacher CTA agrees with the CDE recommendation to summary denied Tustin international appeal the petitioner did not follow the required procedure to request the Documentary record from the district and county and submit along with their appeal Please affirm the decision made by the local level Tustin unified and Orange County Board of Education. Thank you this concludes public comment in the room um there is one caller in the queue i will open the phone line now caller with the last four digits nine three six six you are now live please

090start your public comment you have one minute caller with the last last four digits nine three six six you are now live please start your public comment i'm hearing then that concludes public comment uh for item number 14. all right well now open for board discussion uh is there any Discussion, questions, or comments from the board? Seeing none, do I have a motion? Vice President Glover-Woods? I move that we summarily deny review of the appeal submitted by Teston International Charter School. Do I have a second? Member Olkin? We can just do this by show of hands. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? All right, the motion carries. Thank you, Rick. And we are now going to reopen item one to take action on the preliminary report of actions draft July 2025 meeting minutes

091and to report on our liaison assignments. Are there any speakers signed up to provide public comment in person? And for anyone who is queuing up, the phone number and access code are shown on the slide. Is there anyone in person? And there are no callers either. All right. I'm going to ask if I have a motion. A motion to pass our draft minutes. So moved. Member Yoshimoto-Towery, is there a second? Member Rodriguez, thank you very much. All in favor? Raise your hands. Any opposed? Any abstentions? All right, motion carries. Now we're gonna get to our board liaison reports. And I want to remind you to report on liaison activities that are not related to any activities in our September agenda. And we will start with student member Ajike, right out of the gate. Well, I

092guess I just want to start by introducing myself. Hi, my name is Vanessa. I go to Whitney High School located in Los Angeles County. And for my report, I've been. connecting with and talking with a lot of students across the state who are interested in applying to be the next student board member. And so that's been great. I've also been managing the Instagram that my predecessor, Julia, created last year. And that's also been pretty fun. Got to make some videos, got to do some Q&As. And that pretty much sums up my report. Thank you. Thank you so much. Member Escobedo. the countdown on the nasby annual conference is less than two months away don't miss this opportunity we'll have we'll hear from the national teacher of the year we'll hear experts from the learning policy

093institute on unlocking students math potential and our state's new framework you'll hear The Aspen Institute hold bold ideas. And so there's so many other aspects in the area of AI technology and so forth. So you will receive a reminder of the NASB conference on your email. And again, it's in Austin. And hopefully some of us will be able to attend. Also myself and Trustee... We attended the RELs meeting. According to the budget trailer bill, our wells program, the funding is changing. So the funding will be coming from now, Proposition 98, and historically was funded by Title III federal funds. So the change is going to, this change in funding is also going to change some structural. priorities, but it definitely is an opportunity for our RELS program to be, I believe, stronger and more meaningful

094for the quality ELD programs. to continue supporting our long-term English learners. So again, news were shared, more information on how this reorganization is going to look like. But I think most participants are excited, but also, you know, show with any change, there's always consternation, right, on those changes. But yeah, we are looking forward to, you know, definitely, definite, greater close-knit work within our state structures now. Thank you. That's all for my report. All right. Thank you. Vice President Glover Woods. I'll use my time to speak to actually something I just experienced with the CCEE, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and I'll leave the ITC report for Member Lewis, if that's okay. All right. Earlier this week, actually on Tuesday, there was a large convening of the statewide system of support, and initially the statewide

095system of support started with about 13 leads. And now we're up to over 50 leads and initiatives across our state that focus and provide resources to districts, to county offices, with the intent of providing to students that have special needs, or students who are English learners, or students who are needing support with literacy, I mean, in just a wide variety of areas. And the intent was really bringing forward all of these entities and talking about... how to go now from coordinating and collaborating to really integrating these resources and supports so that they can actually be. utilized even more effectively by our districts and charters throughout the state. So it was quite an exciting time to see all of those minds together that are funded in a variety of different ways, but all coming together with

096the like mind of how do we create a coherent system to support learning that's happening in our state. And I just wanted to share with you in my comments one of the anchor, or the key anchor question that was posed to those that were in that space on Tuesday. And the question was, in what ways is your work impacting and influencing teaching practices and student learning outcomes? So the other aspect of this I will say in closing is not just about providing activity, resources, professional learning for the goal of providing it and seeing how many people are in the seat or how many clicks are on a website, but really how is this impacting student learning? And that's the question that they're grappling with. That's the question that CCEE is helping to facilitate. all of

097those great minds around and I'm quite excited about the work that is happening with the statewide system of support and looking forward to what will come this year as they continue to grapple with that in their virtual convenings that are planned. Thank you. Thank you. Member Lewis. This summer the IQC was very busy with the upcoming math instructional materials adoption. And as we reported at our last meeting, the CDE and the IQC facilitated two weeks of instructional material reviewers deliberations at the end of July. And during these deliberations, the committees prepared a detailed report. findings for each of the 67 programs that were reviewed during the deliberations. I was able to attend the first week of deliberations and Vice President Glover Woods attended the second week and I very much enjoyed watching the process unfold.

098I was able to observe all of the panels, a portion of their time with all of the panels for that week that I was there. and just being able to listen to the in-depth discussion that took place during those deliberations, it was very evident that the panel members really spent a lot of time reviewing those materials and they came well prepared for the deliberations. Dr. Torres and the Seaford staff did a great job with the organization and deliberation process and they were there to provide guidance when needed, answering questions from the panelists, and just really creating a very comfortable atmosphere for the deliberations to take place. Publishers were also on hand to answer any questions that the panel members had and just provide some clarification. And it was just really a very collaborative effort among

099all the parties involved that really made the process go smoothly. In August, staff from the CDE, the chair of the executive committee of the IQC, the chair of the mathematics subject matter committee, held a hearing to receive public comment on the report of findings. And during this meeting, it gave publishers and content developers an opportunity to share any evidence from their programs that they believe were not identified during deliberations. And it also provided a time for any member of the public to make comments. So right at this moment the CDE or since then the CDE is finalizing the reports of findings to present to the IQC at their next meeting which will take place next Wednesday, September the 17th where they will make final program adoption recommendations. The CDE anticipates that they will bring those

100recommendations to the State Board at our next meeting which will be in November. Also, during the September IQC meeting, the commissioners will hear updates on the second draft of the personal finance curriculum guide, which they are currently reviewing. And after discussing the guide, the IQC will open a 30-day public review and comment period, which will take place during the month of October. and the third draft of the guide will go to the IQC in March of 2026, and at which time they will anticipate recommending that draft or adoption to the board in May of 2026. And that concludes my report. Thank you. Member McQuillan. All right. My report is with the Career Technical Education CTE Liaison Report. The California Career Technical Education Incentive Grants, CTIG, the request for applications for round 11 of the Career

101Technical Education Incentive Grant was released on August 8th with applications that were due last Friday, September 5th. CDE plans to post the preliminary grant qualification results on October 3rd. And then... CDE is planning to bring those the CTIG item for approval to our next board meeting in November. The California Workforce Pathway Joint Committee is a joint advisory committee that makes recommendations to us, the State Board, and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges regarding career technical education programs and the workforce pathways. That committee is planning to meet again on November 7th, and you can see the details on the website That's it. Thank you Thank You member Olkin Hello so I am mostly gonna focus or maybe entirely on My role in relation to AI which even just in conversations over lunch everybody

102is thinking and talking about the role of AI, the positives and negatives for students, for teachers, et cetera. So I have a lot of things I could say because it's a very busy area. I'll try and keep it. relatively brief. So the first is there was a recent report that came out from the Center on Reinventing Public Education that focused on schools in California that are piloting AI tools to address things like learning gaps, individualized learning, and teacher support. So this was working with schools that are actually leading the way, and they found some pretty interesting takeaways. So just three high-level takeaways, which the rest of my report sort of addresses. One is that teachers play the most important role, that the idea that AI could replace teachers. is certainly unfounded and absurd. And that

103ensuring educators understand AI, how it works, how to use it effectively, how to mitigate the risks is really crucial if we're going to have AI in our schools. That's number one. Two, it's really important that schools and districts establish a clear vision of how AI will integrate with things we already care about. instruction, key school priorities. And three, AI developers should better align their products to what educators and students say they need and involve educators throughout the design, development, and adoption process. So with that in mind, it's interesting. I am on two. task force or related to AI. One is through the National Association of School Board, National Association of State Boards of Education, so NASB, their ed tech advisory group, which is focusing on AI. And I wanted to give an example of what

104I thought was a really good model of how one of those takeaways was schools and districts should establish a clear vision of how AI will integrate with instruction and key school priorities. So one of our presenters was from ASCD plus ISTE and they worked with school systems around the country to create what they're calling a portrait of an AI ready graduate. which I think is interesting because we're thinking about our portrait of a graduate, and this is a way to think about how AI can help us with things we already care about. So just quickly, so they have like an AI-ready graduate in terms of learning, uses AI to develop learning goals, create plans for learning with new skills, et cetera. An AI-ready graduate uses AI for research and explains what that means. An AI-ready

105graduate uses AI to help synthesize and explains what that means. An AI-ready graduate uses AI as an ideator, to help ideate, to connect, and for storytelling. So they have sort of a vision of how AI can help schools do what they already care about with students rather than it take away from anything. So I just thought that was interesting. Another presenter also from ASCD, and this is for those of you who are looking at ed tech tools, ASCD and ISTE has developed something called the EdTech Index, which is sort of like consumer reports for ed tech products. It's edtechindex.org. And so they've developed a rubric for EdTech products, how good they are basically, and you can go and get these reviews from teachers about how they work. So those are two key. two takeaways from

106the NASBE EdTech group. And then I also was able to join CDE's inaugural AI work group meeting, which was a fantastic convening of teachers. It was already mentioned in the introductory comments, but teachers across the state, classified staff across the state. AI innovators, ed tech folks, and its intent is to help us as a state sort of continue to move forward with the AI guidance that CDE created a couple years back. and to ensure that as we do that, we're really understanding the impact and the opportunities both for teachers and students. And so it's a really incredible group. And just to give one example from that convening, one presenter said that these are his hopes for AI in education, that... AI helps us ensure that every student has a tutor, every teacher has a TA,

107and every school leader has an assistant. I liked that. That's my report. Thank you so much. Thank you. Member Orozco-Gonzalez. Thank you. I love that every teacher has a TA. I could only wish. My liaison report for assessment was completely discussed in item two and three. But I wanted just to make a remark about that because I do do actually a lot of lesson planning. It gives me really great strategies for a specific standard. And I have a student teacher. And when I'm mentoring her, sometimes I find she is mentoring me when it comes to AI tools. So thank you for your report too. Terrific. Member Botella-Brunson. Yes, I have three points to report out on. On August 27th, the Early Childhood Policy Council met to discuss proposals for rate reform to ensure that early

108childhood educators have a rate of pay to cover the actual cost of care. This is a project and an exploration being undertaken with CDSS. and also with participation from CDE. Of course, this is the pipeline that ensures That children come into TK and kindergarten ready to learn and with a force of preparation underneath their under their belt The next report to the governor and the legislature is expected later this fall and as that gets finalized I will share the highlights of the final report as it's released I also joined the Black ECE Conference on Literacy. It was a multiracial and expansive version of what counts as honoring home language. It looked at the poetic cadences and the way in which Black English has influenced and shaped standardized English, talked around this idea of what it

109means to springboard children who come into the K-12 system and recognizing that they are already able to express themselves, to communicate, and recognizing the value of their home language. It was a very exciting sort of set of conversations around what bilingualism could mean, particularly in terms of black English and academic English. really leveraging an asset-based approach and how to make sure that children are able to code switch but also to be able to honor language that is relevant in their home communities. The last meeting that I was gonna highlight is with the California State Summer School for the Arts, which was the trustees meeting, which invited members of the legislature to the graduation at the end of summer. It was members of the legislature in the home district of the Cal Arts campus in Valencia,

110and the members both of uh cal arts leadership as well as the invited legislative members and their staffers got a small taste of some of the works produced by students in the summer program and lifted up opportunities for future collaboration and support for california's aspiring young artists and that concludes my report perfect thank you remember rodriguez Yes, good morning again all. I have a few updates from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Last month, the Commission approved the SB 1263 implementation plan to improve the design, implementation, and use of the teaching performance assessments. The three-year plan is detailed to cover these areas and more, including the use of artificial intelligence. which has already been mentioned in the context of performance assessment. This year, commission staff will prepare TPA design revisions and develop a system of support

111for preparation programs with low TPA pass rates. This is exciting work to ensure that our assessment is authentic and supportive for candidates and provides feedback for educator preparation programs. Also in the world of assessment, and as some of you may have seen in Ed's source yesterday, the commission voted to direct staff to initiate a coordinated plan to replace the CBEST, CTEL, CPACE, and CSET with a modern integrated licensure examination system. This item was timely as the commission also heard the annual report. on passing rates of commission approved exams from 2019 to 2024. While the state continues to report disparate pass rates based on race and gender, more candidates are meeting credentialing requirements through coursework and degree majors, which is a positive. To further increase these numbers and decrease reliance on testing, staff will be analyzing

112possible expansions to the subject matter requirement framework. The Commission approved this work to facilitate transcript review and use of degree majors to establish subject matter competence, as well as identify opportunities to partner with the community colleges to prepare candidates with subject matter competence. All these changes are designed to authentically assess prospective educators for readiness in California classrooms. Thank you. That concludes my report. Good morning everyone. On civic engagement, high school voter registration is next week. It kicks off, as you know, it's twice a year. And we've registered nearly 1.4 million students, or pre-registered since 2016, so that's exciting. And the state's solo civic engagement, the cycle is beginning again. And I just want to make a note. In regard to civic engagement, as was mentioned earlier, this was the 175th year of California. 250th for

113California is coming up next year. And I think it's a prime opportunity to revisit civic engagement for our youth in California and what it means beyond voting, what it means to be an active citizen. And so I look forward to working with Vanessa. Welcome to the board and to engage, you know, really in a different way. Coming for moving forward in regard to axi our Advisory Commission for special education they revisited their goals and priorities and One of the things that I think is really important there is part of their statutory requirement is to advise Not only the State Board of Education, but also the governor's office and the legislature in regard to items relating to students with disabilities. And it's been difficult and sometimes for them to do that when they don't know what's

114upcoming on our agendas. And so there was a long, robust conversation about that at the last meeting and trying to figure out a cadence and way to do that more efficiently and effectively is something that they're committed to. excited to support. The other, there were two other items at the commission that I wanted to highlight. One was a presentation by the Office of Youth and Community Restoration. OICR was created when, in the same statute that also decommissioned the three state car show. facilities back five years ago. And so OICR has been working very closely with the county offices, the statewide system of support. They're under Cal HHS, Health and Human Services, but they're really focused on increasing literacy in the carceral system workforce, connecting to community colleges and four-year institutions to support students who are

115in the carceral system to have pathways to degrees. and to an independent living situation. So we're excited with the work that OACR is doing. And the other item was educational interpreters. We had an item that came to the board not long ago. It was a waiver request. And the commission heard a presentation just on some of the challenges regarding recruitment and retention, the lack of national credentialing standards. inconsistent state requirements, and shortage of qualified professionals were all raised as concerns, and the presentation focused on seeking possibly additional policy attention for that area. And then I just have three quick updates for the field. There continues to be opportunities for professional learning around inclusive access to a diploma that initiative all the resources are available on Cal tan C ALT a n and there is also

116a webinar series starting September 12th next week on the high school diploma pathway and that's also with CC e and CDE and the last is on the community school effort. There's a great six series webinar package that's focused on coherence and sustainability. The first one was in September, but if you missed it, it was recorded, and there are five more webinars to go. The next one's October 7th, starting at 3 p.m. And the first one was really, I thought, powerful because, again, they're not just looking at the community school effort just in and of itself, but they brought in the extended learning opportunities program. So they're really focused on how to braid and blend other funding sources to support implementation of community schools. So we look forward to that this year. Thank you. I will

117just add one footnote to Member Escobedo's report on the NASBE conference coming up, which is that we are, California is part of their high school redesign initiative, which has six states, New York, California, Washington, Missouri, Kentucky, and one other. Anyway, they've begun to meet and they're gonna have a pre-session, which some of us will be able to attend with our broader team, which includes the community college system, the Department of Labor, Department of Education, and State Board to be thinking about our sort of action plan for high school redesign and for portrait of a learner and developing a system that can lead us into the next century. So that is on the books for us this fall along with the other NASBE activities and we will be continuing over at that time and beyond to

118make forward motion on our portrait of a learner and on our pilots, set of pilots that will be. called for in an RFP that will come out next week from folks in the field who have been redesigning high school to become more personalized, more relational, more focused on deeper learning, and as Member Olkin was pointing out, the radically changing landscape that AI is bringing to our state. So we're launched and we're running forward on that agenda. And with that, I'm going to move us to item 15, which is the general public comment. I know we have a couple of people who have been calling in and hoping to make general public comment. I hope they're ready to call in now. Public comment is invited on any matter not included on the printed agenda. Members of

119the public wishing to provide comment on this item may do so in person or by calling the number shown on the. public comment slide and using the access code that is shown there. So are there any speakers signed up to provide public comment in person? There is no in person public comment. All right, I want to give us a little bit of wait time just to be sure that those who may want to call in have been able to do so. And you could flag for us if we have, if and when we have some public comment landing. I know we had two people who tried to call during other items, so I just want to be sure they have a chance to call in if they'd like to. Did we get all? We do

120have one caller in the queue. Okay, great. Caller with the last four digits, 1183, you are now live. Please start your public comment. Hi. Thank you. Third time's a charm. It's Julie Freeman. I'm a parent of two kids in California public schools. I'm a licensed therapist, and I'm concerned about the way our schools are implementing technology and AI. So research shows that, as one of your speakers said, the teacher is really the most important role, and we want to make sure that teachers know how to mitigate risks with AI and ed tech. These products are purposefully designed to steal kids' data. and they keep them on the program for as long as possible. Another concern with tech use is cheating. Just this week, my 11-year-old son showed me on his device how his peers are

121using AI to cheat on iXL, a commonly used ed tech platform. Not only can they see the answer, but the AI shows them how to show their work at the grade level of their choosing. And lastly, a big concern of mine is that he told me that the lonely kids, the kids without friends, are sitting on their devices during lunch. So I think we've really got to talk about how to protect the social, emotional learning and vulnerabilities of young children at school when we have devices at the ready. Thank you so much for your time and attention to these issues. Thank you. That concludes public comment for item number 15. Good cautions to go with the aspirations that we will also be balancing for AI. With that... I hereby adjourn our September 2025 State Board

122of Education meeting at 1038 a.m. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you in November.