For Immediate Release
Assembly Education Committee Approves CALSSD Sponsored Bill AB 2303 to Address Reporting Burden on Local Educational Agencies
Measure Lays the Groundwork for Statewide Reporting Portal and Calendar
The California Assembly Education Committee today voted unanimously to approve AB 2303, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi. The bill, which is sponsored by the California Association of Suburban School Districts (CALSSD), would reduce the fragmented and duplicative reporting burden faced by California school districts, improve data quality, and lay the groundwork for a unified statewide portal and a comprehensive calendar of report and plan deadlines.
“AB 2303 streamlines unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements so schools can spend less time filling out forms and more time educating our students,” said Assemblymember Muratsuchi. “This bill streamlines reporting while maintaining transparency and accountability.”
Local educational agencies currently must meet reporting requirements for numerous separate state systems, each with different submission timelines, data formats, and program contacts, while in essence seeking the same or very similar information. This burden falls disproportionately on districts with lean administrative capacity.
“Every year, each school district is responsible for submitting dozens of reports which collectively are thousands of pages long. School district staff must spend substantial time navigating disconnected portals and resolving formatting inconsistencies across dozens of separate state systems. This is valuable time that could otherwise be focused on supporting students,” said Carmen Garcia, Superintendent of Morgan Hill Unified School District. “AB 2303 is a much-needed step toward bringing coherence and alignment to reporting requirements and making the information that school districts report more useful to educators, stakeholders, and the state.”
Key elements of AB 2303 include:
- Data Quality and Equity: More coherent data collection will produce more reliable information on student outcomes — including for English learners, students with disabilities, foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, and students from low-income families, encompassing the Local Control Funding Formula unduplicated groups.
- A Unified Portal and Submission Calendar: Recommendations for a single statewide data submission portal and a comprehensive reporting calendar would reduce confusion, allow school district staff to plan effectively, and improve transparency around reporting and plan deadlines.
AB 2303 takes a measured and fiscally responsible approach by directing the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to make recommendations about a California data portal and data submission calendar after reviewed ways that other states have successfully established unified reporting portals and consulting with the California Department of Education, other relevant state agencies, and key stakeholders. The bill does not authorize new system development or eliminate any existing requirement.
AB 2303’s deadline for the LAO report provides appropriate urgency while allowing for thorough consultation with school boards, county offices, administrators, business officers, labor unions, and districts of all sizes.
CALSSD also applauds the passage of AB 2008, authored by Assemblymember Darshana Patel, which would add a provision to future school data reporting and planning requirements that auto-repeals them four years after they go into effect, similar to Government Code 10231.5 for state reports.
Both AB 2303 and AB 2008 were approved unanimously on consent by the Assembly Education Committee.
About CALSSD: The California Association of Suburban School Districts represents member districts serving communities across California’s suburban regions, advocating for fiscally responsible policies that support student success and educator effectiveness.
For more information contact Andrea Ball, President of the Ball/Frost Group LLC and legislative advocate for the California Association of Suburban School Districts at andrea@ballfrostgroup.com or 916-616-3116.
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