In response to members’ needs, ACSA and its partners are introducing three legislative bills designed to meaningfully reduce reporting burdens on local educational agencies.

Across California, school leaders do an exceptional job of serving students while simultaneously navigating an ever-growing web of plans, reports, and compliance requirements. From large urban systems to small and rural districts with limited staff, administrators consistently share the same concern: Tedious and duplicative reporting diverts valuable time and resources away from students.

ACSA has heard this message clearly. Educators are inundated with state and federal reporting mandates, many of which overlap, replicate existing data, or have outlived their usefulness — particularly in small and rural districts where capacity is stretched thin.

“For too long, unnecessary reporting has pulled educators away from their core work,” said ACSA Legislative Advocate Diana Vu, who worked alongside members, legislators and education partners to develop the package of bills. “These bills represent a concrete step toward restoring balance and respecting the limited capacity of our school systems.”

The first component is Assembly Bill 2008 by Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel, which would establish an automatic repeal for new reports placed on LEAs. Under the bill, any new reporting requirement would sunset four years after implementation unless explicitly extended. This mechanism prevents outdated requirements from remaining in place indefinitely and mirrors existing Government Code provisions that apply auto repeal in other areas of state government.

The second proposal, Assembly Bill 2496 by Assemblymember José Luis Solache, would repeal the School Accountability Report Card (SARC) and formally replace it with the California School Dashboard. Most SARC elements already exist on the Dashboard or other public platforms, and families increasingly rely on these tools for current, user-friendly information. The proposal would also direct the California Department of Education to preserve historical SARC data and develop a webpage that provides public information on where to find similar data, ensuring transparency while eliminating redundancy.

The third component is Assembly House Resolution 87, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi. The resolution urges policymakers to carefully consider whether new reporting requirements are truly necessary before imposing them on LEAs. It outlines six key questions to guide this process, helping ensure that future mandates provide clear value and do not duplicate existing efforts. A resolution is meaningful not for changing specific code sections but to set a guidepost for future legislation affecting this policy issue.

ACSA is partnering with the Small School Districts’ Association, California School Boards Association, and California Association of School Business Officials on this effort, reflecting broad consensus across the education community. Together, these measures represent a meaningful step toward modernizing accountability, preserving transparency, and freeing educators to focus on what matters most — serving students.