Our lawmakers’ choices have always mattered. And now that the federal administration is shamelessly attacking marginalized Americans, our state elected officials stand in between Californians and danger. Yes, they must stand firm against those attacks, but we must insist that they go further by doubling down on the education justice efforts our students need.
The lawmakers we need now are the ones who bring a vision of justice for the students and families furthest from opportunity—and display the bravery, tenacity, and innovation necessary to make it a reality. We need legislators who offer new ideas and propose changes to the programs and policies that make the greatest difference in the lives of students of color and multilingual learners.
Each year, EdTrust-West analyzes the bills introduced in the California legislature and selects the top eight with the greatest potential to advance equity—and this year, we’re sponsoring some of our own. We then fight for them all the way to the governor’s desk, doing everything we can to see them signed into law.
Our lawmakers’ choices have always mattered. And now that the federal administration is shamelessly attacking marginalized Americans, our state elected officials stand in between Californians and danger. Yes, they must stand firm against those attacks, but we must insist that they go further by doubling down on the education justice efforts our students need.
The lawmakers we need now are the ones who bring a vision of justice for the students and families furthest from opportunity—and display the bravery, tenacity, and innovation necessary to make it a reality. We need legislators who offer new ideas and propose changes to the programs and policies that make the greatest difference in the lives of students of color and multilingual learners.
Each year, EdTrust-West analyzes the bills introduced in the California legislature and selects the top eight with the greatest potential to advance equity—and this year, we’re sponsoring one of our own. We then fight for them all the way to the governor’s desk, doing everything we can to see them signed into law.
That’s why each year, EdTrust-West analyzes proposals for the state budget and new legislation and identifies the top eight greatest opportunities to advance educational equity and justice.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2024-2025 state budget includes several of these opportunities. Read our response to Newsom’s budget proposal for an analysis of key funding priorities for moving educational justice forward.
The Equity 8 for 2025
Last Updated: 8/18/2025
1) Universal Access to Dual Enrollment
This year, we chose to include a combination of bills that would, together, achieve a major step forward to expand pathways greater than the impact they’d have alone. They are:
- AB 1122 (Bryan) Pupil instruction: dual enrollment
- SB 438 (Cabaldon) School attendance: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships.
- AB 731 (Fong) Pupil instruction: dual enrollment: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships
Well-designed, high-quality dual enrollment programs can profoundly and positively impact students’ lives. To do so, they must form strong pathways through a clear sequence of courses that lead to certificates, degrees, or transfer opportunities. California has made notable progress in improving educational attainment, particularly for students underrepresented in higher education, by developing programs and pathways that support college and career readiness like the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) program. However, significant gaps in access persist, especially for low-income Black, Latinx, and Native American students.
AB 1122, SB 438, and AB 731 would expand access to life-changing dual enrollment by (1) enacting a statewide policy guaranteeing universal access to dual enrollment, (2) incentivizing CCAP program development and growth through sustainable funding, and (3) eliminating barriers that hinder student participation in the CCAP program.
EdTrust-West is sponsoring AB 1122 (Bryan) and co-sponsoring SB 438 (Cabaldon).
Update: AB 1122 (Bryan) and SB 438 (Cabaldon) have become two-year bills. AB 731 (Fong) is pending on the suspense file of the Senate Appropriations Committee. We are also excited that the final state budget requires the UC and CSU to clarify their policies regarding counting dual enrollment courses towards A-G requirements.
2) Protections from Immigration Agency Attacks for Undocumented Students
Some policymakers are launching extreme attacks on immigrant Californians through every mechanism possible. That’s why this year, rather than select a single bill, we chose a collection of bills that address a range of vulnerable scenarios by which immigrants are and might be targeted. They are:
- AB 49 (Muratsuchi) School sites: entry requirements: immigration enforcement
- SB 48 (Gonzalez) Immigration enforcement: school sites: prohibitions on access, sharing information, and law enforcement collaboration
- AB 695 (Fong) California Community Colleges Access and Continuity for Deported Students Act
- SB 98 (Pérez) Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education: immigration enforcement: notification
Federal immigration actions are terrorizing immigrant communities, separating families, and sparking fear and trauma for hundreds of thousands of California’s children, young people, and their families. One out of every five children in California (20%) are living in a mixed-status family, meaning they are undocumented themselves or are living with a family member who is undocumented. It is imperative that California’s state leaders remain steadfast in protecting all Californians’ rights to classrooms, schools, and campuses that are safe and welcoming.
This bill package would protect students and the institutions that serve them (schools, colleges, universities, etc.) from immigration enforcement and help mitigate the impact on students’ access to education. They focus on maintaining safety, ensuring access to resources, and reducing the potential for disruption due to immigration-related issues.
Update: AB 49 (Muratsuchi), AB 695 (Fong), and SB 98 (Pérez) are pending in their respective Appropriations committees. AB 49 (Muratsuchi) was amended to incorporate the contents of SB 48 (Gonzalez). In August, both Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees will vote on these bills, and we look forward to continuing to fight for them as they move forward.
3) SB 305 (Reyes): #AllIn4FinancialAid for Community College Students
In 2021, California implemented a revolutionary step forward in college affordability: universal financial aid application completion for high school seniors. After just one year, California led the nation in overall growth of financial aid completion rates: almost three in four high school seniors had successfully applied for financial aid.
SB 305 would build on this runaway success by ensuring that all community college students apply for financial aid (or opt-out) via the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA). Many community college students miss out on state and federal financial aid (like the Cal Grant or Pell Grant) that could make the difference between earning a college degree and not by helping pay for non-tuition costs like housing, food, childcare, and transportation. SB 305 would significantly improve application and take-up of financial aid among community college students, particularly for low-income students and students of color, thereby ensuring students maximize their financial support during college.
EdTrust-West is co-sponsoring SB 305.
Update: SB 305 (Reyes) is now a two-year bill. While the bill is not moving forward this year, this has been a good year for community college affordability in many other ways. The final state budget includes several investments that will ease the cost of community college for some of the students least likely to be able to afford it, including: the Community College Student Support Block Grant; emergency financial aid for vulnerable student populations; additional resources to support Dreamer Resource Liaisons; and grants for community-based organizations to support students with financial aid advising, outreach, and application assistance.
4) AB 335 (Gipson): Grants for California Black-Serving Institutions
California is home to the sixth-largest Black population in the United States, more than 2 million individuals, including 150,000 students who attend college in California. However, Black Californians face undue bureaucratic and financial barriers to our state’s colleges and universities. In 2024, EdTrust-West was proud to support SB 1348 (Bradford), which established the Black-Serving Institutions (BSI) designation, a distinction bestowed upon colleges and universities that excel at providing resources to support Black student success. While the BSI designation can be a valuable tool, sustained investments in BSIs are needed to further incentivize progress in college access, affordability, and persistence for Black students.
AB 335 proposes to do just that by establishing the Designation of California Black-Serving Institutions Grant Program as a competitive grant program for the advancement and equity for Black and African American students.
Update: AB 335 (Gipson) is now a two-year bill. We will continue to work with its sponsors and Assemblymember Gipson’s office to advocate for sustained investments in BSIs next year.
5) Budget Proposal (Newsom): $500 Million for Literacy and Math Coaches
Professional coaching helps teachers improve their craft and deliver even higher quality instruction in reading and math. Coaches provided as part of the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Program use evidence-based strategies to help teachers design their instructional practices and design interventions to help students with the greatest learning needs.
Governor Newsom proposes $500 million in one-time funds to provide literacy and math coaches to educators in high-poverty schools (by expanding the existing Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program). Of the $500 million, $235 million would be used for literacy coaches in grades kindergarten through third grade, and $250 million would be used for math coaches in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The remainder would be used by a county office of education or a consortium of county offices to provide training for educators to become literacy coaches and bilingual specialists and evaluate the literacy program. These programs would strengthen teaching and learning in high-poverty schools by implementing many of EdTrust-West’s recommended strategies for instruction.
Update: The final 2025-26 state budget includes $200 million for literacy coaches along with several other exciting investments in literacy that are inclusive of strategies meant to support coaches and educators who are pursuing bilingual authorizations. Although the budget disappointingly didn’t include any funding for math coaches, we were pleased to see other investments in math like supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that align with the state framework and $30 million to support math coaching in school districts via the Mathematics Professional Learning Partnership.
6) ACA 7 (Jackson): Eliminating California’s Ban on Race-Conscious School Funding
California’s constitution includes a restrictive, regressive affirmative action ban that prohibits the consideration of race and gender in public education, employment, and contracting. This denies California the flexibility to allocate additional funding to serve some racial groups to help them overcome the effects of racism and associated underinvestment in public schools.
ACA 7 would amend the state constitution to limit this restriction on the consideration of race in public TK-12 education and higher education spending and programming. This would afford California the flexibility to modify its school funding model, the Local Control Funding Formula, to make Black students, and other groups, eligible for supplemental funding. Unlike most other bills, to become law, ACA 7 must first pass both the Assembly and the Senate and with two-thirds votes and then be approved by voters in the November 2026 general election.
Update: ACA 7 (Jackson) is now a two-year bill. Next year, we hope to collaborate with Assemblymember Jackson’s office to ensure the legislature passes it by the deadline of June 27, 2026, so it can be placed on the 2026 general election ballot.
7) AB 1128 (Muratsuchi) Stipends for Teacher Credentialing Candidates
TK-12 teacher candidates must complete 600 hours of training in the classroom to earn their credentials. During this period, many candidates struggle to pay for living expenses because they are unable work while they complete their coursework and classroom training. These financial burdens deter potential candidates from going into the profession and cause others to drop out of the process. This exacerbates the state’s chronic teacher shortage, especially for aspiring teachers of color, who are more likely to face financial barriers to a teaching career than their peers.
This bill seeks to address that by establishing the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program through the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. This program would provide grants to teaching credential candidates that pay them during the required student teaching.
EdTrust-West supports this proposal and will also be seeking amendments to target grant funding to teacher candidates with the greatest financial need.
Update: The final 2025-2026 budget includes $300 million for a newly established Student Teacher Stipend Program, achieving the goals of AB 1128 (Muratsuchi). Paying stipends to student teachers is a win, and we hope that investments will be targeted to prospective teachers with financial need or who plan to serve in high-need schools. As this program is implemented, we’d like to see outreach targeted toward prospective teachers with the highest financial need. And as the state considers similar investments in the future, we hope they prioritize prospective teachers placed in schools that serve a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds.
8) Budget Proposal (Newsom): $328,000 for Statewide Implementation Plan for the English Learner Roadmap (AB 2074)
Multilingualism is a powerful gift for individual students and a valuable asset for the state as a whole. Yet for nearly two decades, a backwards English-only education policy denied affirming, effective instruction to multilingual students and held the state back. Today, many California schools are still not adequately supporting multilingual learners in gaining both proficiency in English and in mastering other content areas.
In 2017, California passed a new, asset-based vision for serving multilingual learners: the English Learner Roadmap. This comprehensive policy provides a framework that includes more coherent instructional practices and materials, teacher training and professional development, social and family supports, and parent and community involvement. Yet eight years later, we still have an uneven implementation throughout the state. In 2024, AB 2074 was passed to mandate an English Learner Roadmap implementation plan, and now Governor Newsom proposes $328,000 to make it a reality. Of those funds, $164,000 would be a one-time investment for startup expenses and $164,000 would be an ongoing allocation for one position at the California Department of Education. A dedicated position at CDE will ensure that there is guidance to support local education agencies with building shared understanding and coherence for programs and services to support multilingual students. This allocation is a step in the right direction and will bring the state closer to adequately serving English Learners.
Update: This proposal was approved in the 2025-26 state budget. While further investments will be required to fully implement AB 2074, we are excited that this proposal was approved alongside other investments that will align efforts on literacy and English Language Arts to the English Learner Roadmap.