California is home to over 8 million students in TK-12 classrooms and on college campuses across the state with big dreams for their future – dreams that should be respected, nurtured, celebrated and, perhaps most notably, in a state as resource-rich and allegedly progressive as California, supported through equitable resource allocation, policies, and practices. Instead, far too many of these students and their families face an unnecessary uphill battle when it comes to their educational journeys.

EdTrust-West’s 2023-24 Policy Agenda lays out the 13 priorities we will boldly pursue over the next year and legislative cycle to address the barriers these students face. As elected officials, state agencies, boards, and commissions, district leaders, and school boards identify top priorities for the coming year, we urge them to draw from these priorities to ensure their own policy and practice agendas are equity minded and center students of color and multilingual learners. We look forward to engaging with fellow advocates and leaders throughout California to achieve these targeted, strategic, and bold actions for Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American and multilingual students and their families.