The "2025 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary services and supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty, kids living in…

Through its "Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health," California has invested $4.7 billion in youth mental and behavioral health since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanding behavioral health services on school campuses has been a powerful way to ensure equitable access to this support. However, most of the state's new behavioral…

This study examined the unique needs of Asian American students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors and the extent to which institutional agents responded to their needs. This qualitative study focused on Asian American STEM students enrolled at Shasta Fair Community College (SFCC), a federally designated and…

This study explores the efficacy and challenges of interprofessional learning opportunities for preservice special education teachers and speech-language pathologists through a novel Interprofessional Summit. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research examined how interdisciplinary collaboration impacts the preparation of these professionals…

The Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC) is federally funded to provide high-impact, customized, and responsive capacity-building technical assistance to state educational agencies (SEAs) in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. In 2022, R15CC established a regional Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Collaborative for SEA leaders in…

This brief describes a new method for states to determine how well their charter school facility needs are being met with state policies, both at present and in the future as the number of charter schools increases. The brief also illustrates how this new approach, called a Charter Facility Index, can be used in practice, with three state…

The Postsecondary Pathways for Former Foster Care Youth (PP-FFCY) study is a research project that focuses on the transitions of foster care alums to and through postsecondary institutions. Through the Ofice of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL), the PP-FFCY project team is conducting a comprehensive needs assessment report that:…

For several decades California public school reforms have focused on, and dedicated enormous resources of every kind to student learning and achievement, seeking ways to improve the definitive outcomes required by the state: uniform proficiency on assessments, and an increase in high school graduation rates for all students. In California's…

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the Board of Governors are pleased to release the "2021-22 Five-Year Capital Outlay Plan for the California Community Colleges." To support community college districts grow and improve their educational facilities, the Facilities Planning Unit of the California Community Colleges…

This knowledge brief is part of a continuing series designed to inform California education leaders about new research findings on key state policy topics. To better understand the reopening planning process and other issues related to education during the pandemic, WestEd conducted telephone interviews with County Office of Education (COE)…

With the growing recognition of the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences, building trauma-informed service systems is critical. Although there are many online resources to help school systems become more trauma informed, how much they meet the needs of educators is not well understood. To help schools implement trauma-informed…

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the Board of Governors are pleased to release the "2020-21 Five-Year Capital Outlay Plan for the California Community Colleges." To support community college districts grow and improve their educational facilities, the Facilities Planning Unit of the California Community Colleges…

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced state and school leaders across the nation and around the world to immediately close school buildings, the lasting impact on students is increasingly evident: Months of online learning and limited in-person interaction with educators, coaches and mentors have led to gaps in learning, and unknown…

Positive behavioral health outcomes are affected by a variety of factors including social, biological, economic and physical environments. These social determinants of mental health (SDOMH) affect not only individual children but the communities and neighborhoods in which children are expected to live, play and thrive. The State must ensure…

There is an ubiquitous problem with developmental education in community colleges. In 2009-2010, the success rate for developmental English sequence completion in California Community Colleges was 45.4% (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, n.d.). The purpose of this project was to conduct a needs analysis of how to raise success…