California is the fourth largest economy in the world, yet when it comes to our public schools, California ranks 33rd out of 50. A $4 trillion economy, the largest sub-national economy globally, should be able to provide a world-class education for all its students. And yet, our public schools face so many challenges: understaffing, high turnover, ballooning class sizes, poor infrastructures, limited arts and music programs, to name a few. These challenges are acute for low-income, Latino, and Black students, and exacerbated in our state’s urban and rural environments. A better California education is not only possible, but necessary. From better utilizing existing tax dollars to taxing corporations and the rich, we can make California first in per-pupil spending. We can absolutely fully staff schools, and assure fair wages and working conditions for all educational staff, including paraeducators, nurses, academic workers, custodians, librarians, social workers, and more. We can provide modern schools ensuring safe, gender inclusive, clean, and functional facilities to safely support and welcome our students and families. Our students deserve high quality, fully-funded schools!

The US has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. With no federal, universal childcare, the US ranks 40th on a Unicef ranking of 41 high-income countries’ childcare policies. New Mexico, which has a much smaller Gross State Product (GSP) than California, has made childcare free, a policy which has lifted 120,000 people above the poverty line. New Mexico also raised wages for childcare workers so that many early childhood workers were also raised out of poverty. Investing in our children is the right thing to do, but it also makes economic sense: Research shows that “every dollar spent on high-quality, birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children can deliver a 13% per annum return on investment from better education and health outcomes for children, employment gains for parents, greater economic productivity and reduced spending on healthcare and crime.” We should not be watching idly as other states implement smart, just policies that benefit working people. As the 4th largest economy in the world, free childcare and universal pre-k, along with wage increases for early childcare workers, should be a priority.

Small class sizes improve outcomes for students. We have had definitive data on this for decades: Holding class size to eighteen or fewer students in grades k–3 produces significant benefits in both reading and math, with the greatest impacts on Black, Latino, and students from low-income backgrounds. And yet, because small class sizes would require funding and investment in our public schools, this solution often seems idealistic rather than a pragmatic, reasonable, research-based strategy to improve outcomes for students. Each year, however, districts spend millions on consultants, experimental technology, and assessment materials that they have limited data to support. Instead, this money should go towards supporting our students in the researched, proven way we know how.

Schools must be empowered and supported to offer students and families comprehensive and wraparound medical and social services and enrichment experiences for all students in our public schools. This would allow students and families to have their needs met so that students can actually focus on learning. Community schools would be welcoming, safe, and affirming spaces for students and families across race, gender, sexuality, ability, and all spectrums of identity. Meeting the many growing needs of our students enables them to develop the necessary life and academic skills to thrive in a complex world. This kind of programming will require investments in services like counseling and school-day programming, as well as education services to be provided beyond the typical school day. Through the creation of community schools and regional hubs, students can participate in extended learning opportunities in all subject areas, including arts and technology, to explore their true passions. These centers of learning and innovation will be fully staffed by union workers, who will receive quality training on how to best support students outside of the traditional school day. Community members will collaborate and build upon successful sports and recreation programs offered by other government entities to make sure all students have access to a healthy lifestyle.

For over 50 years, the federal government has promised to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and that promise has never been kept. Federal funding, which is now threatened due to the dismantling of the Department of Education, has only ever covered less than 13 percent of the cost of educating students with disabilities. As the fourth largest economy in the world, California should be filling the gaps the federal government leaves and fully funding special education (SPED), while also pushing the federal government to do more. Fully funding special education and making it a priority of the California Department of Education would mean access to qualified educators (who would receive specialized training through state-funded educational and career pathways), early identification of special needs, and early interventions that ensure students can reach their full potential, regardless of their identification. Additionally, we need to end the overrepresentation of Black and Brown students in Special Education by addressing the racist practices and assessments that disproportionately label poor children who have experienced trauma with diagnoses such as Emotional Disturbance. We believe all students deserve a quality educational experience, and fully funding special education and addressing racial inequities is an important step towards turning that belief into reality.

Many countries across the globe have made college free for their people. As the fourth largest economy in the world, there is no reason why California can’t do the same. Rather than making students choose between debt and a life without a college degree or technical training, we believe all students should be able to access high-quality experiences in higher education. The California Department of Education should pay special attention to teacher education programs and other educational pathways for school workers and educators, making sure that anyone who wants a career in education has access to the preparation, mentoring, and support necessary for them to thrive long-term. Regardless of socioeconomic background, anyone should be able to enter the education profession without financial barriers. Additionally, we know the importance of adult education programs outside of academia, and while the California Department of Education has adult schools, adult education programs, and technical-trade programming, these programs need to be better-funded and expanded to serve more Californians. 

Schools are places of learning that should be welcoming for all students. In the face of ICE raids and an increase in militarization of police forces in communities, there must be a clear separation between educators serving students and the cops and federal agents monitoring them and their families. Cops and ICE agents have no place in schools where hardworking educators and school site personnel dedicate themselves to building trust from families to make sure all students have access to a quality education. Data shows there is a strong correlation between illiteracy rates and incarceration. It is the duty of the California Department of Education to end the school to prison pipeline and commit every resource available to schools in addressing the root causes and societal factors students struggle with that prevent them from being safe and productive in school.

The US is the only country in the world that requires standardized testing for every student, every year. In addition to the once-a-year testing California students do to fulfill federal requirements, many districts have begun to require additional standardized testing throughout the year. Justified as “test prep” for students and “accountability” for educators, these tests can be grueling experiences for students, many as young as 9 years old, that are neither culturally or developmentally appropriate, nor proven to be effective in improving academic outcomes. These standardized, computer-based benchmark assessments often use valuable district funds, as well as hours of precious instructional time. Rather than overtest our students with biased metrics, we can use quality, project-based formative and summative assessments, developed by educators, students and community members, who would all be compensated for their involvement. Standardized testing should be limited– there is no reason to test every student multiple times per year.

California is one of the most diverse states in the US, with dozens of ethnicities and nationalities speaking many languages. Public education should not only teach the languages of local communities, such as Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, but the curriculum taught in schools should reflect the many communities’ contributions to the State of California. The California Department of Education should promote the creation and maintenance of language pathways, as well as support partnerships between school districts and universities to develop teaching pipelines for training bilingual educators. Finally, there must be a commitment to implementing a statewide framework for liberated ethnic studies rooted in histories of struggle from the many peoples’ in California, the US and beyond.

Our public schools are already underfunded– All existing public funds need to be used to support public school students. School privatization efforts across the country have continued to defund our public schools, without any proven benefit to students. The school voucher movement, which has an incredibly racist history, is growing nationally, causing California schools to face an escalated threat of privatization. While we understand the many reasons families seek educational options outside the underfunded public school system, by developing a quality, fully-funded education system, we eliminate any reason to seek anything other than one’s quality neighborhood school. In order to “stop the bleeding” when it comes to privatization, we propose a statewide voucher ban, as well as a moratorium on charter schools and private schools. All existing charter schools and private schools should be unionized wall-to-wall, and a regulatory system will be developed to match the regulations for public schools. Existing charter schools and private schools will no longer be able to discriminate against students with disabilities or boot students who exhibit difficult behaviors– they will need to follow the same regulations that protect students in public schools from such measures.