Ensure that instruction, programs, and student services provide an equitable, appropriate education to all learners in California. Priorities include:

• Access to flexible college and career preparation opportunities–such as short-term certificate programs–which are responsive to learners’ individual strengths, needs, goals, and circumstances
• An accountability framework that is tailored to alternative education programs
• Data collection policies and practices that support equitable access to effective, appropriate education
• High-quality special education programming
• A cohesive, mixed-delivery early learning system that accounts for UPK and TK
• Whole-child approaches
• Access to accurate, inclusive curriculum
• Effective, evidence-based, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy
• Support for effective reading instruction and awareness of literacy acquisition across grade levels and diverse learner populations
• Responsive systems of support to address challenges to equitable learner experiences and outcomes
• State-level support for adult education amid funding cuts at the federal level
• Educational stability for foster youth, probation-supervised youth, immigrant youth, youth who have been sexually exploited, students experiencing homelessness, and pregnant/parenting students.

Priorities recognize the important role schools play, in partnership with families and communities, in ensuring wellness. Climate change and unsafe educational environments pose a threat to learners’ and educators’ health and can hinder learning outcomes. These harms fall disproportionately on low-income families and communities of color. Priorities include:

• Effective implementation of community school models and other programs that enable partnerships with service providers and community organizations
• Increased mental and physical health resources for learners, their families, and staff in educational settings
• Cybersecurity measures that create a safe and secure environment for learners and ensures their data privacy
• State protections that guard federally targeted populations, including LGBTQ+ and migrant learners—as well as their families, staff, and educators—against discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and undue incrimination.
• Alternative approaches to retributive practices—such as restorative justice, rehabilitation, and restitution services—that address behavioral challenges and ensure accountability
• Assurance of safe, healthy physical conditions for learners, teachers, and staff
• School policies and practices that are consistent with trauma-informed care and that promote wellness

Research shows that student outcomes improve when learners are taught by a diverse body of educators. However, attracting and retaining a high-quality diverse education workforce remains a challenge. Priorities focus on removing barriers to equitable access to the education profession, and include:

• State-level, cross-agency collaboration to support alternatives to multiple choice, standardized testing requirements to enter the teaching profession
• A statewide strategy to maximize participation in special education and bilingual teacher preparation programs
• Stable, dedicated affordable funding for teacher and counselor residency programs
• Access to pathways for early-career educator preparation
• A statewide strategy to recruit, train, and retain mental and behavioral healthcare professionals, paraprofessionals, and other non-teaching education staff
• Support for professional development, including in non-traditional school environments
• Stable funding for “earn and learn” pathways for each stage of educator development
• Literacy and language acquisition training for all educators, including secondary school teachers
• Professional development programs for classified leaders and staff

California has demonstrated a renewed commitment to PK-12 education with recent record-high levels of spending. However, fiscal challenges remain, including declining enrollment, rising costs, and the loss of one-time federal funding. Our schools need adequate funding to provide a robust and rigorous educational experience for learners, while also supporting our education workforce. Priorities include:

• Higher base funding and equitable funding allocations for PK-12 schools, including additional resources to support unduplicated pupils in multiple categories and to support adult learners
• More flexible use of PK-12 school funds by limiting the addition of state-restricted categorical funding
• Support of districts’ fiscal resilience amid declining enrollment and budget cuts
• Proactive state responses to potential federal cuts in education spending and services impacting student wellness and readiness to learn
• Funding allocations when proposed policies include new LEA requirements
• Policies that strengthen school board member accountability and increase their ability to meet their fiduciary responsibilities
• Greater flexibility in designating the use of unused school facilities