Education Policy

> Back to Plan Hub

Summary
• Every California student gets strong early foundations, excellent teaching, targeted support, and a clear, affordable path to college or career, regardless of ZIP code.
• Helps families, students, educators, and employers by improving outcomes from pre-K through lifelong learning and aligning education with real workforce needs.
• Accountable through public dashboards, independent evaluations, tiered supports, and clear KPIs for literacy, math, graduation, affordability, completion, and job placement.

Guiding principles
• California invests early, measures results transparently, and improves based on evidence rather than politics.
• Families, educators, and communities share partnership and oversight so programs work locally while meeting statewide standards.
• Tuition and training costs stay predictable and affordable while protecting UC and CSU autonomy and long-term financial stability.

Goals
• Every child enters 1st grade ready to succeed
• Attract, retain, and empower excellent educators
• Ensure no student is left behind academically, socially, or emotionally
• Deliver research-backed, future-ready instruction statewide with local relevance
• Make school systems and higher education transparent, supportive, and continuously improving
• Make college affordable and predictable, with stronger career pathways and lifelong upskilling

Plan & Policy

I. Early Learning and Foundations Matter
Goals:
- Expand access so every child starts school ready to learn
- Strengthen early literacy and math skills statewide
Actions:
- Expand universal pre-K statewide with an emphasis on teacher quality
- Implement early literacy and math screenings with targeted interventions
- Deliver wraparound supports for low-income families including meals, mental health support, and childcare connections
Impacts:
- Stronger early foundations for learning and confidence
- More equitable starts across communities and regions

II. Empower Teachers and School Leaders
Goals:
- Improve retention and job satisfaction for high-performing educators
- Strengthen teaching quality through support and growth
Actions:
- Provide competitive pay with performance-linked incentives tied to measurable growth
- Expand mentorship programs and annual professional development aligned to student outcomes
- Protect classroom autonomy within statewide standards
- Reduce administrative burden so teachers can focus on students
Impacts:
- Higher teacher retention and stronger leadership pipelines
- Improved student outcomes through consistent, supported instruction

III. Targeted Support for Every Student
Goals:
- Close achievement gaps with timely, personalized help
- Remove barriers that prevent students from learning and attending consistently
Actions:
- Expand 1:1 or small-group tutoring plus summer and after-school learning supports
- Provide wraparound services including mental health, meals, transportation, and family support
- Require transparent allocation of intervention funds with independent audits
Impacts:
- Reduced achievement gaps and improved grade-level proficiency
- Stronger social, emotional, and academic outcomes

IV. High-Quality Curriculum and Instruction
Goals:
- Use a consistent K–12 curriculum that builds skills year to year, matches state standards, is proven to improve learning, and prepares students for college, careers, and a changing economy
- Improve year-over-year academic progression with measurable benchmarks
Actions:
- Support K–12 standards-aligned curriculum with independent evaluations
- Integrate digital literacy, STEM, and career readiness into instruction
- Balance rigor, equity, and local relevance in implementation
Impacts:
- Students gain critical, future-ready skills
- Measurable academic progression year over year

V. Data-Driven, Accountable Schools and Colleges
Goals:
- Use data to drive improvement and support, not punishment
- Make outcomes visible to families and taxpayers in clear, human terms
Actions:
- Implement tiered accountability that provides support first, with intervention only if goals remain unmet
- Publish public dashboards tracking literacy, math, graduation, college and career readiness, and teacher retention
- Track higher education KPIs including graduation rates, debt reduction, and workforce placement
Impacts:
- Transparent, evidence-based decision-making across systems
- Continuous improvement with clear public visibility

VI. Families and Communities as Partners
Goals:
- Increase family engagement and trust in schools
- Strengthen local enrichment and student supports through partnerships
Actions:
- Expand parent engagement in planning, budgeting, and classroom support opportunities
- Build community-school partnerships for enrichment and student services
- Create local advisory councils for oversight and feedback
Impacts:
- Strong school-community alignment and stronger student supports
- More equitable representation in local decision-making

VII. Affordability and Higher Education Access
Goals:
- Make college affordable, predictable, and career-connected
- Preserve UC and CSU autonomy and financial sustainability
Actions:
- Implement income-based tuition caps with phased rollout from 2026–2028 and direct per-student reimbursement to UC and CSU to cover lost tuition revenue
- Verify eligibility using state tax filings with annual renewal
- Require transparent reporting on students covered, amounts disbursed, and outcomes
- Expand targeted grants and scholarships prioritized for underserved populations using a mix of state revenue growth, efficiency savings, and federal grants
- Reduce textbook and technology costs by accelerating digital adoption and open-source resources
Impacts:
- Expanded college access for middle- and low-income families
- Predictable tuition that reduces cost shocks
- UC and CSU governance autonomy protected through direct reimbursement design
- Program durability through clear oversight and audit-ready eligibility controls

VIII. Workforce Integration and Career Pathways
Goals:
- Link education to high-demand jobs and public service pathways
- Strengthen pipelines in essential sectors statewide
Actions:
- Launch regional career pilots in healthcare, tech, renewable energy, and logistics
- Fund career coaching and soft skills development
- Use evidence-based scaling to expand what works
- Support income-driven repayment and public service loan forgiveness pathways where feasible
Impacts:
- Graduates better prepared for real jobs and public service roles
- Stronger workforce pipelines and retention of essential talent

IX. Lifelong Learning and Skills Advancement
Goals:
- Keep Californians competitive as industries evolve
- Expand affordable learning options for adults statewide
Actions:
- Fund micro-credentials and short-term certificates aligned with employer needs
- Offer employer-sponsored training tax incentives
- Build a statewide online adult learning platform with clear outcomes tracking
Impacts:
- Continuous workforce skill development and mobility
- More accessible learning across geography, age, and schedule constraints

X. Funding, Accountability, and Resilience
Goals:
- Make investments transparent, measurable, and durable
- Ensure programs expand only when results are proven, and protect core learning supports during recessions, disasters, or other budget shocks
Actions:
- Blend state, federal, and public-private funding to reduce single-source risk
- Publish annual reporting on KPIs from K–higher education
- Require independent evaluations, sunset clauses, and scale-only-for-success rules for major expansions
Impacts:
- Evidence-based funding decisions with clearer public trust
- Measurable results for students, teachers, and families

Safeguards
- Protect civil rights by enforcing non-discrimination, disability access, language access, and equitable service delivery across programs
- Require independent audits for major funding streams and publish plain-language results annually
- Use clear data governance rules that protect student privacy and limit misuse of information
- Establish rollback or pause triggers if metrics stall, costs exceed defined guardrails, or equity gaps widen despite interventions
- Prevent political manipulation by using independent evaluations, published methodologies, and transparent assumptions

• FAQs

  What does tuition predictability mean?
  Tuition predictability means families can plan for college costs with fewer surprises, using clear eligibility rules and transparent reporting on outcomes.

  Will this take away UC and CSU autonomy?
  No. The design uses direct reimbursement and transparent reporting so UC and CSU governance authority remains protected while students get affordability support.

  Why not just cap UC and CSU tuition by law?
  We want tuition predictability for families without creating a state takeover of tuition-setting. UC is governed by the Regents under constitutional autonomy, and CSU tuition is set by the Trustees. Our approach achieves affordability by reimbursing institutions for eligible students rather than dictating tuition levels.

  Who qualifies for the income-based tuition caps?
  The target is families below median income, verified through state tax filings, with annual renewal to keep eligibility accurate.

  Do high-income families get the same tuition discount?
  No. High-earning families pay full tuition under the structure described, so support is focused where it most improves access and stability.

  How do you make sure schools are improving and not just testing more?
  Accountability is tiered and support-first, focusing on tutoring, interventions, and wraparound services, with dashboards and independent evaluations to track real progress.

  Is this a punishment system for teachers or schools?
  No. The model uses support first and intervenes only when goals remain unmet, while also reducing administrative burden and strengthening mentorship.

  How will families and communities have a real voice?
  Local advisory councils and parent engagement in planning and budgeting create structured input and oversight, supported by measurable engagement KPIs.

  How do you prevent waste or programs that never end?
  Major initiatives include independent evaluations, public reporting, and sunset clauses with scale-only-for-success rules to keep funding tied to results.

  How does this connect education to real jobs?
  Regional career pilots, coaching, and evidence-based scaling link learning to high-demand sectors and track placement outcomes over time.

  How does this help adult learners and career changers?
  Micro-credentials, short-term certificates, employer-sponsored training incentives, and a statewide adult learning platform expand flexible paths tied to workforce outcomes.

  What are micro-credentials, and why do they matter?
  Micro-credentials are small, skill-specific credentials that can be completed quickly, often in weeks, sometimes online or hybrid. They help adults who do not have the time or money for a semester-length class or a full program, and they give employers clear proof of specific skills rather than just course titles. Examples include medical assisting fundamentals, phlebotomy, EKG, cybersecurity basics, IT support, cloud fundamentals, project coordination, bookkeeping, Excel for finance, EV maintenance basics, and solar installer prep.

  What are short-term certificates, and what does this plan change if they already exist?
  Short-term certificates are bundled sets of courses that lead to a recognized certificate, typically 8 to 24 weeks, sometimes longer, often offered by community colleges, adult schools, or approved training providers. Many of these pathways already exist, like EMT, certified nursing assistant, medical coding, HVAC, logistics, behavioral health peer support, and para-educator training. This plan expands capacity and access by increasing seats and flexible schedules, reducing cost barriers, improving completion support, and tying public funding to measurable results like completion, licensing pass rates where relevant, and job placement within 6 to 12 months.

> Back to Plan Hub

Related Plans & Policies