California is failing to identify and serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with developmental disabilities compared to national averages. The transition from infant/toddler services to preschool services is hindered by various factors such as the lack of a systematic screening and child tracking system, interagency coordination, and family/staff preparation for transitions. Significant investments are required to improve the state of early education for children with disabilities in California.

This brief explains that while the California Common Core State Standards in Mathematics require rigorous instruction for all students, those with disabilities do not always have equal access to this instruction. It recommends the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a research-based framework that enables expert learners within classroom settings and maximizes engagement for all students, including those with disabilities, to provide access to rigorous, standards-based mathematics instruction for all students in California.

Students with disabilities should be included in programs that prepare them for life after high school. This can be achieved through a K-14 work-based learning model, which involves strengthening expectations, leveraging opportunities, and integrating supports. Early implementation of these actions is encouraged, along with specific policy recommendations for California.

Preparing youth with disabilities for adulthood can be challenging, requiring additional supports and coordinated planning. Effective practices, such as family involvement, inclusion in general education, and interagency collaboration, can facilitate successful transitions to employment, postsecondary education, and community living. School districts must work with families, employers, and community agencies to implement these practices.

The Learning Policy Institute analyzed the special education teacher workforce in California and found a severe teacher shortage that could harm students with disabilities who need expert teachers the most. The report identifies the causes of the shortage and potential reasons for teacher attrition. Evidence-based policy strategies are suggested to address the issue.

The effectiveness of general education teachers in supporting students with learning disabilities is a concern, and there is little understanding of what components of teacher preparation programs relate to teachers’ perceptions of readiness. Two studies examined survey responses from preservice teachers in the University of California’s TPPs to identify the components of preservice preparation associated with perceived readiness. The study provides recommendations for policymakers and teacher educators to improve teacher preparation programs.

This brief suggests recommendations for improving student outcomes by providing high quality and ongoing professional development to teachers, administrators, and school personnel. It identifies the achievement gap for diverse learners, including culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities, and offers strategies for integrating evidence-based practices into existing educational initiatives. Additionally, it outlines methods for improving the school-system climate to reduce barriers to providing and sustaining innovative training and intervention methods.

This brief discusses how California's System of Support uses differentiated assistance (DA) to provide support to districts and boost student group performance levels. It analyzes the districts eligible for DA in 2019 based on their students with disabilities' (SWD) performance on State Priority Areas (SPAs) and indicators. The findings show that over half of the 333 eligible districts were driven by SWD performance in SPAs 4 (Pupil Achievement) and 5 (Pupil Engagement), highlighting intersectional challenges facing SWD that districts can address through their continuous improvement process.

This report discusses the challenges California faces in improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities (SWDs) and how inclusion in general education classrooms has positive benefits. It examines strategies used by Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida to improve inclusion rates and makes four recommendations for California, including implementing a data system, targeted support for districts with poor inclusion rates, and an inclusion tool for schools and districts to assess their practices.

This brief highlights California's Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), which assists struggling students. The inadequate resourcing of Tier 2 services is nevertheless preventing progress in reading and math, as California ranks 38th in the nation. Categorical funding is necessary to provide additional personnel, such as instructional aides and clerical staff, to assist teachers with implementing MTSS effectively.

This brief outlines the necessary steps to integrate care systems and improve outcomes for California's children. It suggests forming a statewide interagency leadership council and recommends policy reforms to promote collaboration, integration, and service delivery. The goal is to create a "Whole System" approach that integrates child-serving agencies and organizations. A full commitment from the state administration is needed to achieve these solutions at scale.

In the run-up to 2020 elections, where do California voters stand on key education policy issues? This report examines findings and trends from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Key findings include rising pessimism about California education and elected officials, continued concern about gun violence in schools and college affordability, and negative opinions about higher education. However, there is substantial support for increased spending, especially on teacher salaries.

The 2018 Getting Down to Facts II research project drew attention to California’s continued need to focus on the achievement gap, strengthen the capacity of educators in support of continuous improvement, and attend to both the adequacy and stability of funding for schools. Based on the nature of the issues and the progress made in 2019, some clear next steps deserve attention as 2020 unfolds.

California has sought to increase high school students’ access to college courses through dual enrollment. This brief matches high school and community college datasets, revealing that 12.6% of state high school students take college courses, higher than the national average. However, Latinx and African American students, as well as socioeconomically disadvantaged students, were underrepresented in community college course-taking. The vast majority of California public high schools lack formal dual enrollment programs, limiting access to an important onramp to the early college experience.

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in California was designed to increase flexibility, transparency, and equity in school districts. This report examines how Los Banos Unified School District and Chino Valley Unified School District used the LCFF to serve English Language Learners (ELLs). Both districts used the LCFF to create advocacy spaces and develop internal coherence to benefit ELLs with locally devised mechanisms and structures.

California Governor Gavin Newsom prioritized early childhood education with new funding. However, sustaining and building on preK progress remains challenging. PreK–3 alignment has shown to be effective in coordinating standards, curricula, instruction, assessments, and professional development. This study examines California’s preK–3 alignment landscape to better understand the challenges and recommends policy implications to prioritize alignment, offer training, and streamline licensing requirements.

This article explores the use of nonacademic indicators such as social and emotional well-being in educational improvement. The authors suggest that while there is little guidance on using these indicators, understanding the conditions that shape the use of academic data can help develop a framework for using social-emotional learning (SEL) indicators to inform practice. The article draws from sensemaking theory and research from a study of early adopter districts in California to develop this framework.

This report examines the early implementation of California's Statewide System of Support, which is designed to empower local educators in determining the best approaches to improvement. While COEs and district officials hold positive views of the system's emphasis on support over compliance, they have concerns about under-resourcing and the effectiveness of the Dashboard measurement tool. The report provides five recommendations to make the System of Support a more comprehensive system aligned with the Local Control Funding Formula.

This report summarizes efforts to align California's K-12 and postsecondary education systems to address disparities in educational attainment. Based on district leaders' interviews and quantitative data, the report finds that rigorous academic preparation is crucial to college success, and that participation and performance on college admissions exams are key indicators of college readiness. However, substantial inequality exists across all measures of readiness, and district leaders emphasize the importance of engaging families and the community in supporting postsecondary success.

County offices of education (COEs) must support districts to drive continuous improvement in California's education system while building their own capacity for improvement. This policy brief highlights three major shifts that COE superintendents identified, in partnership with CCSESA and PACE, including developing the necessary mindsets, skills, structures, and processes to build capacity for continuous improvement within their own offices and the districts they serve.

This brief summarizes findings from three surveys on county offices of education's (COEs) response to Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Statewide System of Support (SSS) implementation. Most county superintendents are supportive of the state's policy direction, recognize the scale of change needed to implement LCFF and SSS, and acknowledge that full implementation is still in progress. They are also aware of the need for changes in their COEs' organization and operation, as well as in their relationships with other agencies.

Marin County's schools face rising costs, particularly for pensions and declining enrollment, which is not sustainable. Teacher salaries and recruitment are affected, with limited public awareness of district flexibility to respond to rising pension costs. Parcel taxes have faced opposition, and a statewide funding solution is necessary to support student success and stop financial distress. Building awareness of pension costs' impact is essential, and benefits and salaries are necessary to retain teachers.

This case study examines the looming deficit faced by Sacramento City Unified School District and the challenges it poses for students, including declining enrollment, increasing special education and pension costs. It also highlights the impact of SCUSD's budget practices and labor-management relations on its current budget situation. The report offers considerations for policymakers, including addressing unaffordable teacher benefits and increasing funding. Although the district's fiscal crisis cannot be solved overnight, stabilizing the situation and restoring public confidence are crucial.

This paper investigates the effect of student satisficing, the act of providing suboptimal survey responses, on data quality in a large-scale social-emotional learning survey. The study examines the prevalence and impact of satisficing among 409,721 students and finds that its effect on data quality is less significant than expected. The paper offers a practical approach to defining and calculating satisficing, useful for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working with large-scale datasets.

This paper examines which social-emotional skills are most important for student success and how they vary among student subgroups. It uses longitudinal data from over 200,000 fourth through seventh grade students in California to explore growth mindset gaps across student groups and shows the significant predictive power of growth mindset for academic achievement gains, even when controlling for other social-emotional skills and background characteristics.