In response to policy and accountability mandates requiring California community colleges (CCCs) to address disparities in student outcomes, CCCs must adapt to evolving frameworks, funding structures, and parameters (e.g., definitions, equity populations, and metrics). Recent guidance has focused on race-conscious and equity-minded approaches.…

As postsecondary education has become increasingly important to California's economy and quality of life, the state has been considering how best to meet student and workforce needs over the long term. State leaders recognize that coordination across educational sectors is crucial to addressing these needs. The now-defunct California Postsecondary…

In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025-26. UPK includes several early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and expanded learning opportunities to provide full-day early…

Policies restricting bilingual education have yielded to policy frameworks touting its benefits. This shift corresponds with evolving lines of debate, focusing now on "how" bilingual education can best support racialized bilingual learners. One element of this new debate is the perspective on language underlying curriculum in bilingual…

In this article, the authors review the antecedents, analyze the evolution, and draw recommendations for educational policies in the regions of California and Catalonia over the last 50 years, especially regarding bilingual education. This analysis is necessary due to the size, representativity, precociousness, and success of bilingual policies…

After decades of consistent growth, California transitional kindergarten (TK) through grade 12 public school enrollment has been declining and is expected to continue to do so for at least the next two decades. This report provides guidance on how districts in California and elsewhere can respond to declining enrollment in ways that strengthen…

California is on the cusp of implementing universal preschool--a step that could help level the playing eld for young children. Over the next few years, all four-year-olds will become eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which has been part of the state's early learning programs since 2012. In the report, "Setting the Stage for…

States have recognized the impact of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) on a child's later college and career readiness and success in life. Yet disparities in program access, quality, and resource allocation continue to deprive many young children and their families of adequate support. By investigating and applying state boards'…

California policymakers passed the Student Equity Policy, requiring all community colleges to develop a "student equity plan" that identified outcome disparities for select student groups, including racial/ethnic students. Through an instrumental case study, I examined Huerta College because their equity plan stood out for its focus on…

Equity practices have expanded throughout the California community college (CCC) system. Every CCC develops an equity plan, where each institution chooses a disproportionately impacted population and focuses on improving access, basic skills completion, degrees and certificates awarded, and transfer rates. Each college is required to develop…

A statewide coalition of nearly 50 experts -- including doctors, medical and environmental health researchers, educators, youth and community groups -- worked together to explore the challenges of climate change from the perspective of children's health and education. The insights and recommendations are published in this report. It is presented…

Amid fires, wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other climate-driven disasters and health hazards, California's leading experts in children's health and education have come together to call for a cost-effective, ten year $150 billion investment to ensure K-12 public schools can remain open and provide safe and healthy places for California's…

The California Community College system is the largest system of higher education in the world, with 115 colleges organized into 73 districts, serving over 2 million students. By design, California's community college districts incorporate all of the state's territory. Virtually all Californians are within commuting distance of a community…

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) has introduced positive and much-needed change to California's approach to K-12 education funding by allocating resources according to student need and freeing districts to make decisions that address local priorities. For all of LCFF's advantages, however, the Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) in…

This study explores the ways in which local students experience housing instability--and how cross-sector strategies can better identify and serve these students. The report accompanying this brief considers a rich set of school administrative data, collected over the course of three school years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic: 2016-17 through…