EdVoice Reveals Plan to Transform California Education System By 2040

In early December 2024, EdVoice Institute released a comprehensive, research-informed policy agenda to redesign California’s public school system by 2040. “Futures Filled with Opportunity: Reshaping California’s Public Education System for Children from Low-Income Communities,” prioritizes the needs of low-income children to receive a high-quality education—aligning local, state, and national research and best practices with nearly 100 clear, scalable policy recommendations.

“California is proud of our innovative edge on key issues, yet we continue to accept an antiquated public school system that was not designed to effectively educate all children,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO at EdVoice Institute. “Too many of California’s students aren’t meeting state standards in English and math, which affects their future opportunities. Each year, a large number of education-related bills are introduced. While many are well intentioned, we need to move beyond one-off, piecemeal approaches and instead focus on an evidence-based approach to long-term, comprehensive systemic education policy change,” added Tuck.

California is home to 3.6 million low-income students. Eighty-eight percent of these low-income students are students of color, who are often facing systemic inequities that cannot be solved with a single policy change. EdVoice Institute’s agenda calls for a comprehensive approach to policy change, spanning a student’s entire academic career (preK-12). The policy agenda identifies the five pillars critically necessary to dismantle the system’s inherent inequities:

1. Effective Early Education
2. High-Quality, Diverse Educators
3. Enriching and Engaging Courses & Materials
4. Evidence-Based Early Literacy and Numeracy Instruction
5. Additional Supports and Learning Time

To effectively implement these pillars and ensure educational equity for children from low-income communities, California will need to meet 2 foundational conditions: (1) substantially increased public school funding and (2) a robust accountability system that ensures continuous improvement and tracks meaningful progress.

Given the complexity of issues facing California students, EdVoice Institute developed its comprehensive policy agenda through rigorous, multi-dimensional research. The team conducted extensive analysis of California's existing educational policies and their systemic impacts on underserved student populations. EdVoice Institute’s policy experts also conducted a comprehensive review of national and international educational research, examining evidence-based practices from diverse educational contexts, and consulted with education experts, community leaders, and stakeholders across California.

“Education is the most powerful tool we have to create opportunity and break down barriers to success,” said Yolie Flores, President and CEO of Families In Schools. “Throughout my career, I’ve fought to ensure every child has access to the high-quality education they deserve. EdVoice Institute’s policy agenda offers a bold vision for addressing the deep inequities in our system and ensuring that all students—regardless of their background—are empowered to achieve their full potential.”

“During a time of increased, competing demands, EdVoice Institute hopes its agenda of evidence-based policy recommendations guides state leaders in developing a policy roadmap. This will help to enable cohesive strategic decision making and resource prioritization that will ultimately transform California’s public education system so that all children are prepared for college, career, and life,” said Heather Calomese, EdVoice Institute’s Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer.

To read the policy agenda, visit https://edvoiceinstitute.org/policy/.

You can follow EdVoice (EdVoice Institute’s sister organization) on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EdVoiceCA, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/edvoiceca/, and X https://x.com/edvoice.