Position Papers

ACSA Equity Position Paper (March, 2005) pdf 98k

ACSA High School Reform Position Paper (March, 2005) pdf 115k

Recruitment & Retention of School Leaders: A Critical State Need (June 2001) PDF 693k

Organization Response to CTC Draft Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Induction Programs (May 2001) PDF 59k

Position Paper in Response to CTC Review of the Administrative Services Credential (May 2001)
PDF 42k

Charter Schools (July 1999) - The ACSA Board has adopted this position statement on charter schools.

Statewide Academic Standards -- Doing it Right (June 1996) - The ACSA position paper on implementation of the California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act of 1995 (AB 265), which mandates the development and adoption of statewide academically rigorous content and performance standards in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, mathematics, history, social science, and science for grades K-12. (See also our new Standards-Based Accountability paper.)

Student Diversity in California's Schools: a Perspective for the 21st Century (June 1996) - The Association of California School Administrators recognizes the need for a statewide focus to address issues regarding California's diverse student population. In 1991, a task force was established to write the report "Student Diversity in California Schools." The goals, objectives and recommendations developed by this task force served as the basis of this position statement developed by the Diversity/Equal Educational Opportunity Committee.

A Master Plan for Public Education (July 1999) - ACSA's Board of Directors enthusiastically supports the development of a comprehensive master plan for public education, pre-kindergarten through adult education. The need for a master plan has been growing at an increasing rate over the past two decades, primarily since the passage of Proposition 13. Public education in California has become more and more centralized and annual piecemeal reforms have been adopted. It is very clear to ACSA members that despite good intentions, the state lacks focus and direction with regard to education funding and policy issues.

After pressing for the development of a master plan through legislative and media efforts, our work now shifts to assisting the Legislature in drafting a guide to education policy making in California over the coming years. This document sets forth what ACSA believes should be the goal, purpose, principles, and components of a master plan. It represents the collective thinking of those who make up ACSA's diverse membership; school principals and vice principals, classified and certificated central office administrators, and superintendents.

Task Force Review of Shared Decision-Making (September 1998) - Recent trends in collective bargaining necessitate clarification of issues related to the implementation of shared decision-making in California schools. Serious questions have been raised about the role of the principal and other administrators involved in the process of shared decision-making, as well as the effect of shared decision-making on student achievement in light of recent mandates concerning accountability. Are those who share the decision making process held accountable for those decisions? Probably not, in the models we have seen. Does the process of shared decision-making improve student achievement? So far the research is inconclusive.

Student Success in a Standards-Based System: Moving Beyond Social Promotion and Retention (September 1998) - The challenge of helping all California students meet high standards sometimes appears to be a daunting one. As an organization whose mission focuses on the importance of student achievement, ACSA believes the challenge can and must be met. However, to do so involves realizing that simplistic solutions will not work. Improving student achievement is incredibly complicated. Only by identifying the major factors that contribute to student achievement, understanding the connections among these factors, and committing to a process of continuous improvement will we be successful.

Standards-Based Accountability: A Design for Student Success (November 1997) - Student learning and achievement are at the heart of our educational system in California. They are not ends in themselves, but means to a successful transition to postsecondary education, a career and to becoming effective and productive members of society.

Welfare Reform in the Golden State (June 1997) - How Will California Implement the New Federal Programs? This second paper in a series on welfare reform explores the implications of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in August 1996. PRWORA represents the largest single change in federal provisions since the "Great Society" years of the Lyndon Johnson administration. This legislation completely replaces the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Block Grant (TANF). Taking direct aim at assumptions of entitlement in assistance programs, these reforms disqualify populations from eligibility, set time limits on participation, require states to transition recipients to employment, and change the rules for a host of special programs.

Straight Talk about School Administrators (April 1997) - The myth of "bureaucratic bloat" in American public schools is not substantiated by the facts. Yet increasingly, critics argue that administrative costs divert scarce resources away from classroom instruction. The opposite is true. School districts operate with very lean management structures in which only a small percentage of the school budget is directed to overhead and administration.

Welfare Reform in California Schools (December 1996) - ACSA has developed this analysis of welfare reforms to provide school leaders with a "heads- up" to assist in planning for possible impacts on school services, programs, and populations.

Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners (November 1995) - An update of the 1987 ACSA task force report on language minority issues. That group developed a position statement on bilingual education adopted by the ACSA board in 1987. This updated position statement was developed by a new task force established by ACSA in 1995. The new task force was designed to provide a broader representation of California's education community. In addition to ACSA members and educational associations, this task force included representation from teachers, parents and community.

Report of the ACSA Inclusion Task Force (September 1995) - ACSA has a responsibility to assess the impact of inclusion and its implementation in California's schools, including: small and rural districts; districts with varying levels of resources; and districts with varying levels of experience, training and willingness to implement inclusion among teaching and administrative staff.

Report of the School Safety & Violence Task Force (May 1995) - ACSA's goal is to create and sustain safe school environments. We believe students cannot be effectively nurtured and provided the knowledge, skills and values our society desires for them in unsafe schools and community conditions. New allocations and investments of educational and community resources for any public purpose, therefore, should be weighed against the need to finance initiatives designed to educate and protect California's children. The Task Force recommends consideration of a comprehensive survey designed to identify needs, gaps and exemplary programs related to violence prevention and response, with a clear identification of how the survey results can be utilized locally.

The PDF requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download FREE from the Adobe Website