December 17, 2021

2021 Leadership Accountibility Report

Keely Martin Bosler, Director
California Department of Finance
915 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814


Dear Director Keely Martin Bosler,

In accordance with the State Leadership Accountability Act (Leadership Accountability), the Department of Education submits this report on the review of our internal control and monitoring systems for the biennial period ending December 31, 2021.

Should you have any questions please contact Mary Nicely, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, at (916) 319-0266, mnicely@cde.ca.gov.

GOVERNANCE

Mission and Strategic Plan

The California Department of Education (CDE) oversees the state's diverse public school system, which is responsible for the education of more than six million children and young adults in more than 10,000 schools with over 300,000 educators. The CDE is responsible for developing a statewide system of accountability and support that ensures Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are informed, aligned with, and implementing educational law and regulations while simultaneously creating opportunities for innovation and transformation that improve public school programs. Additionally, the CDE oversees and maintains reporting responsibilities for the three state special schools, serving California’s deaf and blind students, and three diagnostic centers that assess student needs.

The CDE’s mission is to provide a world-class education for all students from early childhood to adulthood. The CDE serves the state by innovating and collaborating with educators, schools, parents, community partners, the legislature, and the Governor’s office. Together, as a team, the CDE prepares students to live, work, and thrive in a multicultural, multilingual, and highly connected world.

The CDE’s goal is to transform public education by implementing strategic programs using the historic investments in education made by the state to better prepare all students for twenty-first century careers and college. Critical and interrelated strategic priorities include: student success through equity, teaching and leading excellence, continuous improvement, systems change and support, and improved assessment systems using multiple measures.

The CDE’s objectives to achieve the goals and strategic priorities include:

• Establish the Whole Child Division, Family Engagement Unit, and Student Health Office at the CDE
• Successfully implement the California Community Schools Partnership Program, the Universal Meals Program, and the Universal Pre-K Programs
• Expand and improve a system of recruiting, retaining, developing, and supporting teachers that instills excellence in every classroom, preschool through adult, with a special emphasis on diversifying the teacher workforce to reflect the diversity of our students
• Provide statewide leadership that promotes access to technology to improve teaching and learning
• Provide broader and more effective communications between home, school, district, county, and state
• Build local capacity to enable equitable access to educational resources for all students
• Hold LEAs accountable for student achievement in all programs and for all groups of students
• Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Department through modernizing internal business systems and processes

Additionally, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (State Superintendent) priority initiatives, informed by the necessity to close persistent opportunity/achievement gaps, include:

• Statewide Literacy Campaign, Reading by 3rd Grade— Form the Literacy Task Force to implement important literacy and biliteracy initiatives, lead the One Million Book Drive, and align the work of the task force with LEAs currently awarded grants through multiple CDE administered state funded grant programs.
• Black Student Achievement— The Black Student Achievement Task Force recommends statewide policy and programs driven by research based and proven approaches to support the success of black students and to identify bright spots and best practices for establishing positive school climate to address disproportionate chronic absence, suspensions and expulsions of students of color.
• Closing the Digital Divide— Form the Digital Divide Task Force to support the policy and statewide investments in broadband infrastructure and technology to close the homework/ digital equity gap.
• Jobs for Tomorrow— Increase CDE capacity to lead state Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics efforts to increase the number of districts that offer courses and internships.
• Teacher Diversity— The Teacher Diversity Working Group recommends statewide policy and strategies to recruit and retain teachers of color, identify bright spots and best practices for establishing positive school climate, and to build a community of practice.
• Education to End Hate and Implicit Bias Initiatives— Provide grants and webinar series to address the increased harassment, bullying, and violence against students due to race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identification.

Control Environment

The CDE demonstrates its commitment to integrity and ethical values through an organizational structure that promotes a collaborative and inclusive professional climate. The CDE’s core values include a commitment to serve, leadership, integrity, professionalism, respect, open communication, positive supporting environment, and teamwork. Executive management conveys its priorities and organizational expectations through the establishment of policies and procedures, collaborative workgroups, leadership and executive management meetings, open house presentations to the field, and Department-wide communications and presentations.

The State Board of Education (SBE), established first by statute in 1852, then by amendment to the California Constitution in 1884, is the governing and policy-making body for academic standards, curriculum, instructional materials, assessments, and accountability for the CDE. The SBE consists of 11 members and is constitutionally authorized to appoint members of the executive leadership upon nomination of the State Superintendent.

The CDE is headed by the State Superintendent, Tony Thurmond, a state official elected by the people for a four-year term. The CDE is organized into the following six operating branches that report directly to the Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction (Chief Deputy Superintendent), Mary Nicely, who is nominated by the State Superintendent and appointed by the SBE:

• Equity Branch: The Equity Branch (EB) works to bring cohesion in all of the CDE's equity work, supports the CDE’s organizational development around building school-based mental health, medical care and substance recovery programming and supports using an integrated care framework, social emotional learning, and other whole child programs. Additionally, the EB partners with other state agencies to operationalize initiatives. The EB provides leadership, support, and administrative oversight in the program areas of career and college transition, community schools, adult education, family engagement, equity, research student achievement and support, health and safety, attendance, alternative education, independent study and the newly formed whole child division. The EB strives to provide the necessary internal and external resources and supports to ensure every student can achieve at their highest potential and have access to equitable learning opportunities through school transformation.
• Information and Technology Branch: The Information and Technology Branch oversees and supports all internal and external technology services to CDE headquarters, external facilities, the state special schools and diagnostic centers; manages the California Longitudinal Pupil Data System (CALPADS); reports analysis, measurement and accountability of data through various dashboards; manages data sharing agreements with various education segments; and coordinates and conducts federal monitoring.
• Instruction, Measurement & Administration Branch: The Instruction, Measurement and Administration Branch supports programs promoting improved student achievement, including statewide student assessment, school and district interventions, and professional learning; ensures equal, fair, and meaningful access to CDE employment and program services; oversees CDE employee services, labor relations, and professional development; and supervises the functions of the state special schools and diagnostic centers.
• Legal and Audits Branch: The Legal and Audits Branch advises and represents the CDE, the State Superintendent, and the SBE; provides advice on legislation and legal matters regarding other governmental agencies and the state special schools; coordinates and conducts external and internal audits and audit-related services; reviews and processes civil rights complaints and appeals; investigates complaints involving state and federal categorical programs funded through the Consolidated Application; and monitors compliance with the Uniform Complaint Procedures.
• Operations and Administration Branch: The Operations and Administration Branch oversees the CDE budget and all accounting and contracting; apportions state and federal resources to LEAs; assists LEAs in the fiscal and business aspects of public school operations, including school facilities and emergency services management; and provides technical assistance to charter schools and oversight to charter schools authorized by the SBE.
• Opportunities for All Branch: The Opportunities for All Branch (OFAB) helps all students, starting with early learners, reach their academic potential and goals by providing the necessary support to early educators and providers, teachers, administrators, school and district leaders, and community-based organizations. The OFAB ensures that inclusion practices are established during classroom hours, before and after school, with quality expanded learning, and in early education programs. The OFAB additionally ensures that programs and instructional resources and support reflect cultural and linguistic diversity, accessibility, and equity.

Each branch provides direction to various divisions that administer the CDE’s processes and programs. The CDE’s structure allows the Department to appropriately address the varied responsibilities under its purview. However, the CDE’s executive management team responds to the changing needs of the state’s educational system, LEAs, community-based organizations, and the children served by modifying its organizational structure and responsibilities as necessary.

The CDE maintains a competent workforce by ensuring its hiring and recruiting practices conform to the California Department of Human Resources requirements. In addition, a variety of professional and general training courses and opportunities are provided to promote professional competencies and aid in the retention of CDE personnel and management. Furthermore, the CDE administers an annual performance evaluation process that promotes organization-wide accountability and provides professional growth opportunities for all levels of staff and management.

The CDE management establishes effective systems of internal controls to ensure its goals and objectives are achieved. The internal control system is documented through policies and procedures at the department, branch, and division operational levels. Accountability is achieved through the CDE’s multi-level organizational reporting structure as well as regular internal and external assessments and audits.

Information and Communication

The CDE is responsible for the collection and processing of large amounts of information and strives to ensure that the collection, use, and communication of all information entrusted to it is relevant, reliable, and free from error. To this end, the CDE maintains a number of data collection systems employed to collect longitudinal, operational, and programmatic data. Additionally, the CDE utilizes the State-wide accounting system, FI$Cal, to collect, process, and report fiscal information. The CDE management employs controls over its information systems that ensure the information is both complete and accurate. Furthermore, it maintains adequate separation of duties over essential functions and requires management review of key programmatic and operational information. Moreover, the CDE provides outreach, training, and technical assistance to grantees and contractors to ensure the information obtained from external sources and used by program and department management is relevant to evaluate and improve the programs under its responsibility.

The CDE employs a number of methods for communicating information throughout, across, and outside of the department. For example, the CDE management communicates internally through email at every level, including department-wide, to ensure quality information is disseminated appropriately to all levels of staff in a consistent manner, as appropriate. Important department information and updates are conveyed through official communications approved by the State Superintendent or the Chief Deputy Superintendent. Additionally, the CDE engages in cross-collaborative workgroups, roundtables, webinars, virtual all staff meetings, leadership meetings, and executive meetings to share ideas, develop important policy direction, and convey important information across all levels of the organization. Further, the CDE regularly presents information through webinars (often livestreamed on social media), town halls, and the public SBE meetings on various topics relevant to external stakeholders to ensure Department accountability. Moreover, the CDE provides critical LEA and school performance measures regarding California’s student population through the California School Dashboard and System of Support, promoting both accountability and continuous improvement. The public can access both of these tools through the CDE’s internet site.

The CDE provides staff with several avenues to report inefficiencies and inappropriate actions within the organization. For example, the CDE maintains processes for employees to report personnel, labor, and discrimination concerns to its Office of Equal Opportunity and Labor Relations Office, as appropriate. Additionally, the CDE periodically disseminates “Climate Surveys” to all staff requesting workplace satisfaction feedback regarding their concerns, work conditions, and management support. The evaluations from 2019-2021 have been used to develop our department wide equity diversity and inclusion training modules for staff. CDE will use the climate survey model to evaluate the effectiveness of the trainings and measure shifts in work climate. Further, concerns regarding Department inefficiencies and inappropriate actions can be directly reported to the Audits and Investigations Division (A&I) and internal audits can be directly requested through the A&I’s Request for Assistance form.

Fraudulent activities or concerns that employees do not wish to convey directly to CDE management can be reported through the Whistleblower Hotline operated by the California State Auditor’s Office. This avenue for reporting concerns is advertised in breakrooms and common areas on all floors throughout the CDE buildings, and the CDE’s A&I Director annually sends an email regarding the Whistleblower Hotline to all staff.

MONITORING

The information included here discusses the entity-wide, continuous process to ensure internal control systems are working as intended. The role of the executive monitoring sponsor includes facilitating and verifying that the Department of Education monitoring practices are implemented and functioning. The responsibilities as the executive monitoring sponsor(s) have been given to:
Mary Nicely, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The CDE utilizes a variety of activities to ensure the effectiveness of internal controls throughout the various divisions and programs under its oversight. Specifically, divisions develop, implement, and maintain effective controls over the processes and programs under their responsibility. These controls include reconciliations, performance indicators, monitoring meetings, action plans, and ensuring appropriate management and supervisory review and approval. Furthermore, division management periodically review the implemented controls for effectiveness. These reviews may result in management modifying the controls as necessary, or requesting assistance from the Internal Audits Office (IAO) to conduct an audit of the identified risk areas. In addition, the IAO routinely selects CDE programs and processes for review based on an annual risk assessment. During these reviews, the IAO evaluates the program(s) or process(es) to determine whether controls are efficient and effective, implemented as described, and functioning as designed. Moreover, federal and state oversight agencies frequently conduct audits and reviews of the CDE's various divisions and programs, often on a periodic or annual basis. In turn, the CDE management carefully considers the results of both internal and external reviews to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Vulnerabilities identified through the CDE's risk assessment process described in the "Risk Assessment" section of this report, are assigned to responsible parties and monitored by the executive management team as described below.

The CDE’s risk monitoring roles are defined and documented in the “CDE State Leadership Accountability Act Monitoring Procedures.” Specifically, the executive management team designates one or more responsible parties to address identified risks. The responsible parties communicate progress towards mitigating the vulnerabilities to the executive management team, and summarize their activities, progress, challenges, and anticipated accomplishments for the upcoming six-month period.

This information is reported to the executive management team biannually. Since the responsible parties are generally Division Directors and Deputy Superintendents, they are also responsible for communicating the changes to impacted staff and addressing feedback regarding the implemented controls.

RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The following personnel were involved in the Department of Education risk assessment process: executive management, middle management, and front line management.

The following methods were used to identify risks: brainstorming meetings, ongoing monitoring activities, audit/review results, other/prior risk assessments, questionnaires, consideration of potential fraud, and other.

The following criteria were used to rank risks: likelihood of occurrence, potential impact to mission/ goals/objectives, timing of potential event, potential impact of remediation efforts, tolerance level for the type of risk, and other.

The CDE has several mechanisms to identify potential areas of risk to the Department and its mission. The CDE annually conducts a comprehensive department-wide risk assessment to identify internal and external risks at both the Department and division/program level. The A&I considers these results along with other factors to develop its annual audit plan. Additionally, the risk assessment results are considered in the biennial reporting of the CDE’s internal control and monitoring systems, as required by SLAA.

In developing the department-wide risk assessment, the CDE utilizes a risk-based questionnaire designed to acquire information in evaluating risks related to:

• Reliability and integrity of financial and operational information
• Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
• Safeguarding of assets
• Compliance with laws, regulations, and contracts

Upon receipt of the completed questionnaires, the CDE analyzes the responses and categorizes division management’s concerns into high-level risk areas, and identifies whether the risks are related to processes that are centralized, decentralized, or operational/division-specific in nature.

Other factors the CDE considers to identify and assess possible risks include:

• The CDE’s budget
• Reported external and internal audit findings
• Referrals and complaints received from internal and external sources
• Recent organizational or major operational changes
• The potential for fraud within and external to the Department

The executive management team (including the Chief Deputy Superintendent and Branch Deputy Superintendents) along with the CDE’s Division Directors participate in biennial meetings to discuss departmental risks and to identify the most significant risks to the CDE as a whole. These risks are compiled in the Risk Aggregation Worksheet which includes the risk description, cause, and potential impacts to the CDE.

Once the most significant risks are compiled on the Risk Aggregation Worksheet, the executive management team discusses and agrees upon a ranking of the impact (high, medium, or low) and the likelihood of occurrence (high, medium, or low) for each risk. Based on these scores, the executive management team determines the most significant risks that should be included in the SLAA report.

Further, the executive management team and division leadership meet regularly and discuss concerns and strategies to address any major issues as they arise.

RISKS AND CONTROLS

Risk: Funding--Sources, Levels

The CDE serves over six million students and their families through the administration of state and federal educational grants and programs designed to support California’s children from early childhood to adulthood. New education programs are created annually; however, adequate state operations funding and positions are not provided to administer and provide oversight for many of these programs. If adequate funding is not appropriated in the State Budget to address new or expanding initiatives, including approval of the full amount of permissible state level administrative funds from federal appropriations, the CDE may be unable to effectively and timely administer and monitor program progress and compliance with the additional requirements. In some cases, resources may have to be diverted from other programs to address newly mandated programs and initiatives. This could lead to the full intent and benefit of the administered programs not being realized as well as a potential loss of funding or litigation.

Control: A

The CDE will develop a centralized monitoring system that tracks the initiatives and mandates in need of additional resources to ensure the identification of the scope of need and the ongoing effect on the Department’s resources to allow the CDE to effectively focus its funding advocacy efforts and assist in making important resource budgeting decisions. This system will be updated to reflect the impact of any additional resources obtained to address the mandated programs and initiatives. Additionally, the CDE will continue to advocate for resources to sufficiently address all administrative and programmatic requirements.

Risk: Staff—Key Person Dependence, Workforce Planning

The CDE has over 2,100 positions and currently administers $102.7 billion in state and federal funds to carry out its mission of providing a world-class education for all students. While many retirements have already occurred in the last few years due to CDE’s aging workforce, additional retirements will likely occur along with typical staff turnover.

The number of specialized and professional classifications, the difficulty in recruiting for these positions, the need to update the understanding of outside control agencies regarding the Department’s current operational needs, and a heavy reliance on individuals with significant knowledge and expertise in key areas results in a significant risk to the CDE.

Without adequate controls planned to mitigate this risk, the CDE could experience workflow delays or inefficiencies, diversion of resources from critical programs, a lack of knowledge of program requirements, some potential policy options may not be identified, historical knowledge may be lost, and/or the CDE may experience a temporarily reduced ability to improve systems.

Control: A

Finalize and implement a Workforce Development Plan and retention policies to improve the CDE’s recruitment, development, and retention of an experienced, highly technical, and commendable workforce.

Control: B

Review recommendations to minimum requirements for existing specialized classifications and work with CalHR to explore expanding the CDE’s recruitment to maximize the field of eligible candidates to fill department vacancies.

Control: C

Convene a Department-wide task force to review and recommend updates to the Department of Education Administrative Manual to provide updated and uniform direction to the CDE workforce. Additionally, the CDE will ensure guidelines and manuals are developed or updated for all major programs and processes to ensure consistency in operation and efficiency in the transfer of knowledge for key processes.

Risk: Technology—Compatibility

The public, LEAs, schools, and other organizations utilize data collected, processed and published by the CDE. Additionally, CDE staff rely heavily on information technology to execute administrative and programmatic functions. The CDE must implement modern information technology solutions to replace outdated systems and inefficient processes to effectively manage programs and perform departmental operations. However, state procurement requirements, lack of internal development and rapid deployment software/tools, and funding constraints result in challenges that may significantly delay the implementation of technology solutions. Outdated and inefficient systems could impede the efficiency of departmental processes and workflow, hinder the CDE’s ability to communicate, interface, and connect with external educational partners, and reduce the ability to maximize the use of existing data.

In addition to outdated systems, the ever-increasing number of cyber-attacks on networks and data systems nationwide and globally could pose a threat of major disruptions in agency business operations and data breaches for both the department and LEAs, which are often very costly and time- consuming to recover from.

Control: A

The CDE will identify and prioritize outdated systems and technology and work collaboratively to identify department-wide solutions and secure funding for modernization efforts. The CDE will consult with external agencies to minimize system development and procurement challenges.

Additionally, the CDE will work to provide technical staff training in modern technologies and business software applications and tools to increase CDE’s internal knowledge base.

Control: B

The CDE’s Executive Team will prioritize data governance policy work and continue to work with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO's) Modernization and Future Readiness Project, which is assisting states in setting conditions for an optimal digital learning ecosystem.

Control: C

The CDE will continue to work with the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) to keep staff up-to-date on new threats and best practices. Further, the CDE will work closely with the California Department of Technology to develop funding requests to address cybersecurity certification training for staff as well as explore the best software and hardware solutions to protect CDE and LEAs against cyber/ransomware attacks.

Risk: Language Translation Support

The CDE serves more than six million students and their families across the state and must be equipped to communicate effectively with all of the children and families served to ensure the mission of providing a world-class education for all students from early childhood to adulthood is accomplished. Difficulties in recruiting/hiring and funding staff with the necessary language competencies (including American Sign Language) to provide adequate translation support, creates the risk that the CDE may not be able to fully communicate or provide adequately translated documents and materials to non- English-speaking individuals. The onset of the pandemic has highlighted the critical need for the CDE to be able to communicate with and to provide access to resources directly to districts, families, students, and staff in multiple languages. Relying solely on districts to translate materials for their families, creates inefficiencies and duplication of translation services across the state and has resulted in delays in families, students, and staff accessing the safety nets available during this very difficult time, such as expanded nutrition and childcare programs. Improving access to communications and resources to parents and families reduces inequities and marginalization of those who speak a language other than English and reduces inefficiencies and duplication of services.

Control: A

In order to more effectively support translation services for written communications, on-line and in- person meetings, webinars and other communications to deliver guidance and services to the field, the Department will:

• Determine what functions/positions require multilingual abilities and assign existing staff that have these language skills when feasible
• Collaborate with CalHR to more effectively recruit and hire additional staff to specifically support translation services
• Partner or contract with County Offices of Education that have multilingual staff and services

Control: B

The CDE will continue to advocate for adequate funding to contract for translation services that can be accessed by all staff as necessary and that is available through multiple mediums to enhance the Department’s ability to communicate equitably and to support LEAs statewide by providing state materials and guidance in commonly spoken languages in California, beyond English, to use with their families and communities.

Risk: Business Interruption, Safety Concerns

Catastrophic events pose a risk to the CDE's operations and the ability of LEAs/schools to pursue their core function of providing education to children and adults throughout the state. Although the CDE has established a dedicated emergency services team, the CDE may not yet be fully prepared to respond if headquarters is directly impacted by a disaster. Additionally, the efforts to develop a common operating picture for external educational agencies for all phases of emergency management is on-going.

California is experiencing an increase in severity and frequency of catastrophic natural disasters that heightens the risk of impacts to the CDE and LEAs/schools' ability to ensure continuity of service and education. A catastrophic event could result in the loss of human life and property, diversion of staff and resources from other mission critical responsibilities to emergency response operations, insufficient restoration of services or implementation of interim services, damage to the CDE or LEA/school facilities and assets, delays in meeting critical deadlines, and interruption of critical communication and guidance to the LEAs/schools.

Control: A

The CDE will identify and advocate for resources to implement its emergency response plans and approved protocols and establish an Office of Emergency Response to manage both internal and external disaster preparedness and recovery. Additionally, the CDE will identify equipment and systems critical for disaster and emergency response services to protect state assets, personnel, and the public. Further, the CDE will identify resources for critical equipment and system purchases.

Control: B

The CDE will formalize a response structure for K-12 education that addresses preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and field communication protocols; and develop and conduct training for the LEAs to provide a common operating picture. Additionally, the CDE will standardize the use of the response reporting system for LEAs.

The CDE has already developed a Crisis Response page that contains a variety of information and resource links for LEAs/schools and the general public on the CDE’s internet website. Additionally, the CDE has assigned responsible parties to address emergency preparedness and coordinate protocols for internal and external Department responses.

Control: C

The CDE will update the internal Emergency Response Plan and ensure staff awareness of the procedures so that CDE staff have the tools and knowledge needed to respond to emergencies at the Department’s physical sites.

CONCLUSION

The Department of Education strives to reduce the risks inherent in our work and accepts the responsibility to continuously improve by addressing newly recognized risks and revising risk mitigation strategies as appropriate. I certify our internal control and monitoring systems are adequate to identify and address current and potential risks facing the organization.

Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

CC:

California Legislature [Senate (2), Assembly (1)] California State Auditor
California State Library California State Controller
Director of California Department of Finance
Secretary of California Government Operations Agency