Getting Down to Facts III study and Governor’s Budget Release Underscore the Urgency; CEDAN’s Policy Agenda Charts a Path Forward
SACRAMENTO, CA, May 12, 2026—A landmark Getting Down to Facts III study diagnosed California’s education system as lacking cohesion. As Governor Newsom releases his final budget, including structural changes to educator governance, the California Educator Diversity Action Network (CEDAN) is introducing a comprehensive policy agenda with a clear message: California must use this moment to invest in a racially and linguistically diverse, fully prepared educator workforce. With the State Board of Education reviewing potential changes to the system of support for struggling districts this week and the Cradle to Career Data System Governing Board considering a proposal to strengthen teacher workforce data next week, CEDAN’s agenda to build and sustain a high-quality, diverse educator workforce centers five priorities: pathways into the profession, teacher preparation, workforce data, educator compensation, and school environments.
“Our students deserve teachers who understand them and their communities, speak their languages, and see their full potential. But we can’t keep asking individual educators to overcome barriers the system puts there. With the Governor’s budget and the state board’s deliberations both in front of us right now, this is exactly the moment to implement CEDAN’s agenda and build the infrastructure that makes diverse teaching sustainable,” said Sarah Lillis, Teach Plus California Executive Director.
“California has made strides toward building a teacher workforce that reflects the students it serves. But despite the progress, we’re far from the finish line: too many barriers still push aspiring teachers of color and multilingual educators out of the pipeline and out of the profession. EdTrust-West and our CEDAN partners are calling for California to deepen and sustain its investments in preparation, affordability, and retention. Every student deserves access to diverse, well-supported teachers for the long term,” said Benito Aranda-Comer, TK-12 Policy Analyst at EdTrust-West.
CEDAN’s policy agenda calls on state leaders to act across five priorities:
- Sustain and expand affordable, debt-free pathways into teaching, including teacher residencies, Grow Your Own programs, and bilingual educator pipelines.
- Invest in high-quality teacher preparation with more hands-on training and stronger mentorship.
- Strengthen workforce data systems so the state can track whether investments are closing equity gaps.
- Increase educator compensation to make teaching a sustainable career, particularly in underserved communities.
- Ensure school leaders build inclusive, supportive environments where diverse educators can stay and thrive.
“Seeing somebody who looks like you, who shows you that you do belong here, and can see a vision of somebody who has gone to college and gotten a great job serving their community—that’s what our kids need,” said Manuel Rustin, an ethnic studies and American government teacher in Pasadena, California. “CEDAN’s policy agenda is about making sure the next generation of students doesn’t have to wonder if someone like them belongs in the room.”
Led by Teach Plus and EdTrust-West, CEDAN is a coalition of 40+ organizations—from classroom teachers to K-12 and higher education leaders to researchers to students and parents to community advocates—who are collectively working to ensure California’s teaching force is composed of diverse educators. Alongside the policy agenda, CEDAN has launched a multimedia campaign featuring a series of videos that bring the case for educator diversity to life through the voices of teachers, students, and researchers across California. The campaign is available to watch here.
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. teachplus.org
About EdTrust-West
EdTrust-West is an evidence-driven advocacy organization committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in California’s education system. For 25 years, EdTrust-West has worked to improve racial equity in education by engaging diverse communities and increasing political and public will to build an education system where students of color and multilingual learners will thrive. For more information, see www.edtrustwest.org.
