News & Press Releases

Celia Jaffe, President of California State PTA, has issued an opinion piece on behalf of California State PTA’s 700,000 members in which she urges the Governor to adopt 10 key recommendations for the timely and safe reopening of schools. “Schools need to open as soon as practically possible while protecting the health and well-being of students, staff and families,” Jaffe says in the piece, which prioritizes equitable, sufficient funding to cover reopening costs, robust school-parent communication, and expanded learning programs to address learning loss over the last 10 months.

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The proposed California budget for next year targets significant funding to help children, youth and families recover from the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19. This includes more money for housing, health, small businesses, low income families and education. While the budget picture is unexpectedly rosy this year, projections are for lean years ahead. Because of this, the budget also socks away money for a rainy day to avoid deep cuts in future years.

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“This has been an unprecedented time for students and families,” said Celia Jaffe, President of California State PTA. “The global pandemic and civil unrest has rocked the foundation of our public school system. The state and federal budget investments we make this year are critical to restoring the health, safety, social, emotional and academic support needed for all children and families.”

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California State PTA has released the following statement in response to the riots at the U.S. Capitol, which shook the nation. “We at California State PTA denounce last week’s attack on our Capitol,” said Celia Jaffe, President of California State PTA. “This assault on our government was shocking and intolerable. As a nonpartisan organization, PTA supports full participation in, and respect for, the democratic process, affirming that free and fair elections and an orderly transfer of power are cornerstones of our democracy that must not be compromised.” 

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The California Health and Human Services Agency has released the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California For All Kids. The Plan will help the state better understand the crisis families, children and early learning and care providers are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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California State PTA is excited to announce that capta.org now offers English-to-Spanish translation, using the Google Translate plug-in tool. We think this tool will make our website more accessible to the thousands of PTA members who primarily communicate in Spanish. Simply navigate to the page you want to translate, then click the “Translate” icon in the upper right corner and select “Spanish.”

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If your PTA opens an organizational account by December 31, 2020, SkyOne will donate $1000 to your PTA for every 10 members who open individual SkyOne accounts — plus, they’ll reimburse their PTA membership dues for the first year!

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On Saturday, November 7, the Board of Managers acted upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors and approved a virtual Convention 2021. The BOD & BOM concluded that this is the most responsible choice, based on the results of the convention survey, analysis of numerous financial scenarios, and evaluation of the latest public health guidelines and predictions about the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved the use of shorter standardized tests in English language arts and math this spring, creating a path for collecting critical student data amidst COVID-19 uncertainties. The Board’s action also recognizes the need for innovative solutions to support students, schools and districts as they confront myriad challenges associated with the pandemic.

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California State PTA announces its disappointment over the defeat of Proposition 16 in the general election on November 3rd. The passage of this initiative would have changed how factors like race, gender and ethnicity can be considered in state hiring, contracting, and education admissions decisions, and would have restored equal opportunity in California. “We are disappointed that Proposition 16 did not pass, as it would have allowed for greater equity in every aspect of life for the children and youth of California,” said Celia Jaffe, President of California State PTA.

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