Share your expertise at AEC!
CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show is the premier platform to showcase the innovative programs and successful strategies making a difference in your district or county office. Governance leaders across the state want to hear from you!
To be considered, proposal applications must meet all the requirements and criteria outlined below. The call for proposals will open on Monday, March 31!
Submission deadline: Friday, May 2, 2025
Update on Conference Programming: Table Talks
As we continue to enhance our conference experience, we have made the decision to remove Table Talks from this year’s programming. This change reflects our commitment to providing the most engaging and effective learning opportunities for our attendees.
We appreciate your understanding and look forward to delivering dynamic sessions that foster meaningful discussions and valuable takeaways.
Workshops
- Workshops must be approved by the school district or county office of education being represented. Should CSBA hear from a school district or county office of education that a submission was not approved, the proposal will not be accepted for consideration.
- Proposals must include at least one board member, superintendent, or other staff of a current (2024-25 and 2025-26) CSBA member school district or county office of education on the panel; no exceptions will be made. Local educational agencies (LEA) who are not members of CSBA are not eligible to participate.
- CSBA does not accept workshop proposals for sessions intended to sell a product or service.
- Panelists should represent the diversity of our state, districts and counties of varying sizes, and varied points of view.
- Panelists should practice their presentations and prepare visually informative materials. Our attendees absorb a great deal of information at our conference. Thus, all panelists are strongly urged to keep their comments brief, back all claims with data, and stay tightly aligned with their session topic.
- Workshops will be scheduled in 65-minute time blocks and may be scheduled at any time during conference dates at the discretion of CSBA. The total presentation time for all panelists may not exceed 50 minutes, to reserve time for questions from our audience. Thus, each panelist should expect to present for a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes.
- Workshops are limited to four (4) panel members, including the moderator. No exceptions will be made. The moderator is required to proactively manage the time for each panelist, field questions from the audience, and keep the session moving forward. Multi-district panels are encouraged.
- The submitter, moderator and presenters will be notified in mid-July whether a proposal has been selected for inclusion in the conference program.
- Panels must be finalized by Friday, August 29, 2025. Presenters will receive a complimentary, non-transferable, one-day pass for the day of their presentation. If they wish to attend the entire conference, they must register at the full conference rate. Registration opens on Tuesday, June 10. Accepted session presenter(s) are responsible for following all conference guidelines and deadlines.
- Accepted session presenter(s) are responsible for their own travel and related conference expenses.
The AEC planning committee is seeking proposals reflective of the current environment in which California’s schools operate. Proposals should provide relevant resources to advance the best interests of students and public education.
Workshops sessions help board members, superintendents, and other district and county office personnel learn about successful programs and how they can be replicated in other parts of California.
The following criteria will be equally weighed for each proposal:
- Does the proposal clearly address challenges faced by conference attendees?
- Does the proposal clearly articulate recommended actions attendees can take as a result of their learnings from the session?
- Is the proposal well-planned and well-written, providing a clear and realistic picture of intended outcomes for our attendees?
- Does the proposal reflect the interests of new, mid-career, or veteran education leaders from urban, suburban, small, or rural districts, or county offices of education?
- Is the perspective of board members, the school governance team, and its policy role clearly present?
- Is the proposal aligned with the respective conference strand?
- Can the proposed solution be replicated and scaled across a variety of school settings?
- Does the proposal address why participants need to have the proposed information and suggest the tools and strategies they will take with them?
- Does the proposal address budget implications, cost savings, or value added?
- Is the proposed topic timely, relevant, and unique?
- Does the proposal clearly articulate data on results achieved over at least two (2) years, showcasing district and board expertise?
- Does the proposal contain an innovative solution for a pressing issue relevant to our attendees?
- Is each presenter(s) and the designated moderator experienced, knowledgeable, effective, and engaging?
Workshops
Dive deep into specific themes or challenges featuring practical applications, facilitated discussions and collaborative learning opportunities.
- Workshops will be scheduled in 65-minute time blocks and may be scheduled at any time during conference dates at the discretion of CSBA. The total presentation time for all panelists may not exceed 50 minutes, to reserve time for questions from our audience. Thus, each panelist should expect to present for a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes.
- Workshops are limited to four (4) panel members, including the moderator. No exceptions will be made. The moderator is required to proactively manage the time for each panelist, field questions from the audience, and keep the session moving forward. Multi-district panels are encouraged.
Presenter Types
Through the proposal submission process, you will be asked to designate different roles for those involved with each proposal. Descriptions for each role are listed below. We recommend that you take time to become familiar with the descriptions.
This person will not be considered part of the panel unless also designated as a moderator or presenter. Only one submitter per proposal will be allowed. The submitter will receive an update regarding session selection, while all other communications will be directed to the speakers confirmed for the panel.
The moderator oversees the session development, communicates with CSBA staff, coordinates pre-conference preparations and acts as facilitator during the session on-site. Throughout the session, the moderator is required to proactively manage the time for each panelist, field questions from the audience, and keep the session moving forward.
The moderator will be the main point of contact for all conference-related correspondence between presenters and CSBA staff up to and through the Annual Education Conference and Trade Show. Only one moderator per proposal will be allowed. The moderator may also be the submitter. If there is only one presenter on the panel, they will be the moderator.
If your proposal is accepted, please note that CSBA sets each session with up to (4) total presenters, including the moderator. The moderator will be published in all conference materials along with the other presenters. The names of the moderator and presenters are listed in the AEC app, without reference to role.
A presenter is a panelist. If a proposal is accepted, CSBA sets each session for up to (4) total presenters, including the moderator. Presenters are encouraged to funnel all communication with CSBA through their session’s moderator.
In order to ensure the highest-quality workshops are selected for the conference and to manage the total number of submissions for review, Business Partner and Affiliate companies are limited to (1) workshop proposal submission per conference strand, for a maximum of (6) total workshop proposal submissions. Please prioritize the topics you are most qualified to speak about and associate those with one of this year’s conference strands. All workshop proposals from Business Partner and Affiliate companies will be reviewed and ranked along with all other submissions based on their merit, and only selected proposals will be invited to participate at AEC.