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The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented uncertainty both within teacher preparation programs and in schools. While it has exacerbated existing and long-standing inequities in California's educational system, the pandemic also presents an opportunity to innovate teacher education programs and rethink how they prepare and sustain candidates of color, particularly Black teachers. Qualified, engaged teachers are critical for all students, but especially for students who face systemic barriers. Racism, poverty, immigration threats, and community violence hinder students' ability to achieve their full potential. Today, California is facing an acute teacher shortage, fueled in part by the pandemic, an overall workforce shortage, a dearth of applicants, as well as the unevenness of current teacher preparation programs. The result is inequities in instructional quality that disproportionately affect Black students. Well-prepared teachers who reflect the diversity of the students they serve are needed to ensure that all students, especially low-income students of color, have access to rigorous and engaging learning opportunities across the curriculum. To address the success of Black students, California must invest in programs to attract, support, and retain Black teachers. [This report was written with additional support from Adonai Mack, Laine Wherritt, Maya Kamath, Nima Rahni, and Ted Lempert.]

California has experienced a decline in adequate funding for the public education system that has created a jarring reality for its 6.2 million students. While recent investments have helped schools fully recover from the devastating cuts made during the great recession, that additional spending has not come close to what is needed to achieve the state's goals. Policymakers have adopted important education reforms in California in recent years, which are laudable, but leaders must also understand that the investments made to date have been insufficient to ensure students have enough caring adults on campus. This brief illuminates California's school funding shortfalls based on analysis in key areas like professional staffing and development, student-teacher ratios, per pupil spending, and student performance. Comparisons of three similar high schools in California, Illinois, and New Jersey bring the data to life by showing where dollars are spent and how that translates into actual experiences that benefit students and their success. This brief concludes, stating that state policymakers will need to use their political capital to invest more, so that students actually have what they need to support their success. [Additional support for this brief was provided by Adrienne Bell, Maya Kamath, Maria Mejia, Nima Rahni, Jessica Sawko, Ted Lempert, Kelsey Caldwell, Patrick Dorsey, Nancy Heffernan, and Xavier Roque.]