b'REPORTSAdvocacy CommitteeAdvocacy continues to be a key priority and area of work of the CSBA. The Advocacy Committee met as part of the October 2019 and February 2020 face-to-face Board meetings.The CSBA commissioned a literature review, entitled, Elected School Boards and High-Quality Education: A literature review examining the relationship between high quality public education systems and governing school boards. Highlights from the paper include: Public schools, to a large extent, embody the values Canadians have for its children and future citizens.School boards offer communities the opportunity to engage directly with representatives and to participate in setting a vision for education. School boards reflect the values of the immediate community and usually reflect the populations they serve. Two decades of research have consistently shown that school boards can make a difference in student achievement and research on alternative models to the traditional school board are rare and none have shown the structure has a more positive effect on student achievement. School boards must engage in good governance, in order to make a positive difference in student achievement.Public education has always been important for a democratic society. As the one institution with the potential to make positive social change, it is a moral imperative that we focus on improving the performance of public schools. To ignore the research on school boards and student achievement is potentially to undermine the ability of our school systems to be responsive in ways that support continued improvements in teaching and learning. Instead of searching for different structures for governance of education, research strongly supports working with school boards to build their capacity for good governance. The Work Team focused on the tragic implications of Bill 40 in Quebec. In spite of all efforts, French school boards were eliminated at the end of February, with locally elected trustees/commissionaires replaced by appointed education service centres. CSBA continues to be part of APPELE, which is fighting to protect the rights of minority English language school boards in Quebec. Fortunately for democracy, the Quebec court has ruled that the implementation of Bill 40 is to be stayed until a court decision on the legality of Bill 40 is reached.The Advocacy Committee dedicated a great deal of time to the planning and preparation of the second annual advocacy day event. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the event scheduled for May in Ottawa was cancelled.The CSBA was very active in writing to political leaders. In collaboration with the Canadian Association of School Based Administrators, the CSBA called on the federal government to immediately implement the recommendations of the 2019 document, HIGH-SPEED ACCESS FOR ALL: CANADAS CONNECTIVITY STRATEGY. The publication acknowledges that the internet increases our quality of life, and our countrys prosperity, and highlights the governments commitment to connect all Canadians to reliable high-speed internet.'