In this political climate, state lawmakers increasingly represent students’ best chance at getting the educational opportunities they deserve—and for the most part, this budget delivers. Even amid a state deficit and a federal administration determined to foreclose educational opportunities for so many students of color, immigrant students, and multilingual learners, this budget is altogether a strong one for educational equity.

The governor and the legislature successfully put together a state budget that protects—and in some cases adds to—the educational investments that California students count on. Fully funding universal transitional kindergarten implementation, investments in our teacher workforce, greater supports for multilingual learners, avoiding cuts to all three higher education segments, and emergency financial aid for vulnerable community college students stand out as especially laudable.

Unfortunately, there’s no reason to expect that either budget challenges or chaotic decision-making at the federal level will let up anytime soon. It will be up to state leaders to provide the stability and support that our education systems need to keep California’s people and economy thriving. This state budget is just one year; for California’s progress toward educational equity to accelerate in the ways students of color and multilingual learners need—especially with more budgetary and political headwinds—we’ll need to see robust funding continue in future years.

See Staying Committed to Racial Equity in Challenging Times: EdTrust-West’s 2025 Policy Agenda for more on EdTrust-West’s policy priorities.  

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