December 28, 2023

2023 Leadership Accountibility Report

Joe Stephenshaw, Director
California Department of Finance 915 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Director Joe Stephenshaw,

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, 2023.Should you have any questions please contact Mary Nicely, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, at (916) 323-6920, 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 seven million children, young adults, and adults in more than 10,000 schools with over 300,000 educators. The CDE is responsible for developing a statewide comprehensive 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 and close opportunity and achievement gaps for California’s students. Additionally, the CDE oversees and maintains reporting responsibilities for the three state special schools, serving California’s students that are deaf, blind, and hard of hearing, and three diagnostic centers that assess student needs.

The mission of the CDE is to promote equity and educational excellence for all students, from early childhood to adulthood, through innovation and collaboration with educators, schools, families, and community partners to ensure that students thrive in, and contribute to, a multilingual, multicultural, 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 so that all California students (PK-12) will be socially, emotionally, and academically empowered to achieve lifelong success in an interconnected world. Critical and interrelated strategic priorities include: student success through equity, teaching and leading excellence, continuous improvement, reimagining California’s system of support, and improved assessment systems using multiple measures.

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

• Holding LEAs accountable for student achievement in all programs and for all groups of students
• Building local capacity to enable all students to achieve state standards
• Expanding and improving 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
• Providing statewide leadership that promotes the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning
• Increasing efficiency and effectiveness in administration of prekindergarten through grade 12 education, including accurate and timely student record keeping, and good financial management practices
• Providing broader and more effective communications between the home, school, district, county, and state
• Establishing and fostering systems of school, home, and community resources that provide the physical, emotional, and intellectual support that each student needs to succeed
• Advocating for additional resources and flexibility, and providing statewide leadership that promotes good business practices so that California schools can target their resources to ensure success for all students
• Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Department through modernizing internal business systems and processes

Additionally, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (State Superintendent) key initiatives for transforming California schools and other related priorities, informed by the necessity to close persistent opportunity/achievement gaps, include:

• Community Schools: It Takes a Village – Schools Can Be More Than Academics – A community school is a public school serving prekindergarten through grade 12, inclusive, with community partnerships, that ensure pupil learning and whole-child and family development. This includes integrated support services, collaborative leadership, extended learning time, and best practices for educators and administrators.
• Professional Learning: Supporting Our Teachers and Mentors – Proactive teacher support will be key to success in the short and long term. Teachers are learning new technologies, engaging in educator trainings, and putting in the work to reach our students. Teacher preparation programs will need to reflect our new reality over the long term and help prepare future teachers for the flexibility and adaptability that will help them succeed and reach every kind of learner.
• Mental Health Support: A Healthy Mind Is Essential for Learning – Recent years have taken a toll on our students, administrators, teachers, and support staff across the board, but we see disproportionate effects on students of color, English learners, and students of low socioeconomic status. We must deepen our efforts to create equitable opportunities for this generation of students and generations to come.
• Universal Prekindergarten (UPK): Early Start for Greater Growth and Achievement – UPK will bring together programs across early learning and Kindergarten through grade 12, relying heavily on transitional kindergarten and the California State Preschool Program, to ensure every four-year-old child—regardless of background, race, zip code, immigration status, or income level—has access to a quality learning experience the year before kindergarten.
  
• Universal meals: Nourishing Young Minds for Learning—Universal school meals provide the opportunity for all students to reach their full academic potential by fueling their brains and nurturing their social—emotional needs for optimal learning. The California Universal Meals Program is designed to build on the foundations of the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program and is intended to supplement, not replace.
• Antibias Education: Preventing, Addressing, and Eliminating Racism and Bias—Antibias education is designed to empower educators and students to confront hate, bigotry, racism, and bias rising in communities across the state and nation. The CDE leads a series of strategies—including educator training grants, partnerships with community leaders, examination of policies, virtual classroom sessions—that leverage the power of education to create a more just society.
• Expanded Learning Programs: Education Outside of the Classroom—Expanded Learning refers to before school, after school, summer, and intersession learning experiences that develop the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests of students. Expanded Learning opportunities should be hands-on engaging, student-centered, results-driven, involve community partners, and complement learning activities in the regular school day/year.
• Statewide Literacy Campaign: Reading by 3rd Grade— The CDE has established two Literacy Co-Director positions to implement important literacy and biliteracy initiatives, lead the One Million Book Drive, and align the work of the Department 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— The CDE has established a statewide broadband and education technology coordinator position to support the policy and statewide investments in broadband infrastructure and technology to close the homework/digital equity gap.

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 by 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 eight operating branches that report directly to two Co-Chief Deputy Superintendents of Public Instruction (Chief Deputy Superintendent), Mary Nicely and Nancy Portillo, who were nominated by the State Superintendent and appointed by the SBE:

  1. Student Supports and Communications Branch: The Student Supports and Communications Branch offers comprehensive programs and services focusing on the whole child, which includes mental health, health, student safety, attendance improvement, alternative education options, and Tobacco Use Prevention Education. This branch also oversees all internal and external communications, strategic marketing, social media, district and educator recognition programs, media relations, Superintendent’s Correspondence Unit, and CDE Press.
  2. 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.
  3. Instruction and Measurement Branch: The Instruction and Measurement 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; and supervises the functions of the state special schools and diagnostic centers.
  4. Legal, Audits, and Charters Branch: The Legal, Audits, and Charters 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; monitors compliance with the Uniform Complaint Procedures; and provides technical assistance and support on issues related to charter schools.
  5. Operations and Administration Branch: The Operations and Administration Branch oversees the CDE's human resources, budget, accounting, and contracting operations; apportions state and federal resources to LEAs; and assists LEAs in the fiscal and business aspects of public school operations, including school facilities and emergency services management.
  6. 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.
  7. Student Achievement Branch: The Student Achievement Branch works collaboratively with LEAs, administrators, teachers, students, families, and educational stakeholders to ensure state and federal policies and legislation are aligned, supported, and implemented in a manner that provides each of California’s students with meaningful access to a fair, equitable, high-quality, and well-rounded education.
  8. Future Readiness and Special Projects Branch: The Future Readiness and Special Projects Branch supports programs to help young adult and adult learners explore and prepare for college and career. The branch also works in collaboration with other branches and the State Superintendent to implement special projects and initiatives.

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 statewide 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(s). 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 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, in an effort to address inefficiencies related to workflow impacting their ability to perform job duties, worked with consultants to hold focus groups and in-person interviews to develop a plan to increase employee job satisfaction. 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 by the executive management team 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 executive management team (including the Chief Deputy Superintendents 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 a 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.

Additionally, the A&I annually conducts a comprehensive department-wide risk assessment to identify internal and external risks at both the Department and division/program level. This risk assessment includes a questionnaire designed to acquire information regarding internal and external risks to departmental operations and objectives from CDE division directors, branch deputies, and state special school superintendents. The A&I considers the results of the risk assessment along with other factors to develop its annual audit plan. Additionally, the risk assessment survey results are considered in the biennial reporting of the CDE’s internal control and monitoring systems, as required by SLAA.

Risks and Controls

Risk: Funding—Source, Levels

The CDE serves over seven 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. Additionally federal funding provided for positions to support the Federal Stimulus programs will expire in September 2024, yet work needed to support the programs will last beyond the program expenditure date. Work will include but is not limited to reporting, monitoring expenditures, and complying with program audits. If adequate funding is not appropriated in the budget to address limited term positions, 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: Control 1

The CDE will advocate for resources to continue to fund positions required to implement and support the federal stimulus programs as well as other state initiatives. Additionally, the CDE will establish critical priorities for the work that must be done to meet the federal and state requirements and work to ensure that the identified priority work is completed. This prioritization will include an analysis of the potential impact of not doing work that can’t be done within existing resources. Similarly, the CDE will rank vacant positions in order of how critical it is that they be filled, including an analysis of the potential impact of not filling certain positions, and ensure that hiring emphasizes positions that are identified as critical to be filled.

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, CDE’s lack of formal data governance and data strategy policies and procedures creates challenges to modernization and project management. Lack of rapid deployment software/tools and IT staff trained in new technologies, as well as 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 and newly requested 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: Control 1

The CDE’s newly created Project Management Office will work with a statistical analytics company to identify and prioritize outdated systems and technology and work collaboratively to identify Department-wide solutions and secure funding for modernization efforts. 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: Control 2

The CDE will re-align the work of the Education Data Management Division (EDMD) to focus on the implementation of data governance and data strategy policy work, CalPads and the California Cradle-to-Career Data system. The CDE will also continue to work with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO's) Modernization and Future Readiness Project and the U.S. Department of Education’s Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Support Team, which is assisting states in strategic data planning.

Control: Control 3

The CDE’s Cybersecurity Office will play a more active role in the California Cybersecurity Task Force to support LEAs proactively, the State Special Schools, as well as the CDE. Additionally, the CDE will work to provide technical staff training in modern cybersecurity technologies and procedures.

Risk: Language Translation Support

The CDE serves more than seven 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. There is a 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, 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: Control 1

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, CDE's Human Resources Division, and vendors who provide American Sign Language interpreters and multilingual translators to more effectively recruit and hire additional staff to support translation services within each division

Control: Control 2

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: Staff—Key Person Dependence, Workforce Planning

The CDE has over 2,600 positions and currently administers $107 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.

Over the past two years, historic investments have been made in California education programs including community schools, school based health programs, Medi-Cal billing technical assistance, and social emotional supports. Many of these programs require new skills, qualifications, and expertise that have not previously existed at the CDE and do not fit into the current specialized and professional classifications at the CDE. This creates difficulties in recruiting for these positions as they do not fit cleanly into the statements of qualifications for the existing positions/classifications. There continues to be the need to update the understanding of outside control agencies regarding the Department’s current operational needs, the disconnect between existing classifications versus what is needed to implement and support new programs, as well as the 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: Control 1

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: Control 2

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: Control 3

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: 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 and has an updated internal Department Emergency Response Plan, 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: Control 1

The CDE will develop its Emergency Operations Plan and establish protocols to staff the Department Operations Center to manage external disasters.

Control: Control 2

The CDE will formalize a response structure for PK-12 education that addresses preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation; and develop and conduct training for the LEAs to provide a common operating picture and increase user adoption. The CDE has already developed a Disaster and Emergency Resources page that contains a variety of information and resource links for LEAs/schools and the public on the CDE’s website. This web page is reviewed and maintained on a regular basis to ensure the information is current, relevant, and accurate.

Control: Control 3

The CDE will update the internal Department’s Emergency Response Plan and ensure staff understand the procedures and 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, Assembly] California State Auditor
California State Library California State Controller
Director of California Department of Finance
Secretary of California Government Operations Agency