Achievement gaps among California’s most historically disadvantaged students have persisted for decades, crossing racial, social, economic, and geographic boundaries, even within high-achieving groups. Despite these ongoing disparities, California's education policy often relies on short-term, well-meaning programs instead of a long-term plan with clear benchmarks and goals. Truly closing these gaps requires a comprehensive statewide strategy that aligns policies, budgets, and support systems to bolster local achievements. Attendees will learn about the extent and persistence of these gaps for underserved students, gain insight into California's education system and how overlapping responsibilities may cause redundancy, and how the California School Boards Association’s SOS for Student Achievement plan is structured to address achievement disparities through refining state structures to enhance their ability to provide local support. Addressing the sentence structure and B) trying to avoid making it sound like we want more stringent accountability at the state level (aka top-down) vs. state system reform.
