FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 18, 2025

New EdVoice Institute Policy Brief Calls for Permanent $20,000 Teacher Grants to Staff California’s Highest-Need Classrooms

With 1 in 7 California teachers underprepared and more than 750,000 students without access to a qualified teacher, EdVoice Institute recommends making the Golden State Teacher Grant (GSTG) permanent and targeted.

SACRAMENTO, CA – California’s teacher workforce crisis continues to disproportionately impact the state’s highest-need schools, according to the latest policy brief released today by EdVoice Institute: “Incentives to Attract and Retain Teachers in California’s Highest-Need Schools.”

EdVoice Institute identifies and uplifts scalable policy solutions to improve academic outcomes for children from low-income communities. Grounded in research and state data, the brief recommends making the Golden State Teacher Grant (GSTG) a permanent, reliably state-funded teacher incentive program to help ensure every student in California has access to a well-prepared, qualified teacher. 

The research highlights stark disparities in access to qualified teachers across California:

• 1 in 6 California teachers in the highest-need schools are substitutes, interns, or teaching outside their credential area. 
• Students in ≥80% Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) schools are nearly twice as likely to be taught by an underqualified teacher (15.2%) as students in the wealthiest schools (8.5%).
• Racial disparities further compound unequal access to qualified teachers:
  • Students in the highest-need schools (≥80% FRL) are predominantly Latino (77%) and Black (7%), while lowest-need schools (≤20% FRL) serve more White (42%) and Asian (26%) students. 
  • In 2023–24, only 67% of teachers were fully credentialed in schools where at least 1 in 5 students was Black, compared to 82.5% statewide.

“EdVoice Institute provides state leaders with evidence-based solutions to California’s most pressing public education challenges. Our latest brief prioritizes recommendations to help bring more qualified teachers to the state’s highest-need schools because teachers are the single most important school-based factor in student success,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice Institute. “Too many students, particularly Black and Latino students from low-income communities, are negatively impacted by the state’s ongoing teacher shortage crisis. If the state is to deliver a quality public education that prepares all students for postsecondary success, it is imperative that California make long-term commitments to programs, such as the Golden State Teacher Grant program, that effectively strengthen the teacher workforce,” continued Tuck. 

Since its launch, GSTG—currently funded by temporary, one-time dollars from the General Fund—has incentivized more than 22,000 teachers to commit to serving in high-needs schools, reaching over 750 high-need campuses and providing hundreds of thousands of students with greater access to qualified teachers. Despite this successful track record, GSTG is scheduled to end in 2026. This could reverse recent gains and deepen staffing crises in the very schools that need stability most. 

Policy Blueprint: Make GSTG Permanent, Targeted, and Reliably Funded

EdVoice Institute’s brief advises lawmakers to break the cycle of short-lived initiatives and create lasting improvements in teacher workforce stability by permanently embedding the GSTG program into the state’s education funding.

To build a lasting solution, the state must:

• Make GSTG a permanent, ongoing program with reliable state funding.
• Increase the grant amount from $10,000 to $20,000.
• Require a four-year service commitment in high-need schools to improve retention beyond the early career years, when turnover is highest. The current service commitment is only two years.
• If long-term affordability becomes a concern for the state, target the incentive to the highest-need schools by raising the eligibility threshold from ≥55% Free or Reduced-Price Lunch schools (FRL) to ≥80% FRL.
  • In this scenario, the program would support an annual cohort of roughly 3,500 teachers, estimated to cost $70 million per year. 

“At an estimate of $70 million for 3,500 new qualified teachers, the Golden State Teacher Grant (GSTG) program is one of the most cost-effective investments we can make in education across our state,” said Steven Almazán, EdVoice Institute’s Director of Policy & Partnerships. “While no single program can fully solve the teacher shortage, a permanent, targeted GSTG program is one of the most practical ways to stabilize classrooms in our highest-need schools while the state continues the longer-term work of strengthening the teacher pipeline. It is time for us to move beyond short-term commitments and instead focus on solutions that will positively impact teachers, students, and communities for generations to come,” continued Almazán.

About EdVoice Institute:

EdVoice Institute, is a 501(c)3 education research, policy, and coalition-building organization that identifies and uplifts scalable policy solutions to improve academic outcomes for children from low-income communities. EdVoice Institute provides evidence-based policy recommendations across our key pillars to reshape public education in California so that students from low-income communities have futures filled with opportunity. These efforts help build the overall political will for change and aid in persuading legislators to prioritize our areas of focus and policy proposals.

Media Inquiries: EdVoice@ActumLLC.com 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2025

New Report from EdVoice Institute Proposes Evidence-Based Solutions to Recruit, Prepare, and Retain California Teachers

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, EdVoice Institute, together with 21 organizations – representing students, educators, parents, community members, and advocates across California – released “Every Classroom, Every Child: Lasting Solutions for California’s Teacher Shortage”, a comprehensive policy brief outlining evidence-based strategies to address California’s persistent teacher shortage crisis that disproportionately impacts students from high-needs schools.

The brief reveals stark disparities in teacher quality across California’s schools: nearly 1 in 5 teachers statewide were not fully credentialed in 2022-23, with high-poverty schools experiencing 40% more unqualified teachers than higher-income schools. Students from low-income communities are twice as likely to be taught by teachers who lack full credentials in their subject area, inexperienced educators, and under-prepared teachers.

“Research shows that teachers are the single most important school-based factor in student success, which is why we must support them at every stage of their careers,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice Institute. “California can only deliver on its promise to give every child a high quality education if we have well-prepared teachers in every classroom.”

California’s Teacher Crisis by the Numbers

• 1 in 5 teachers statewide (47,000) were not fully credentialed in 2022-23
• 40% more teachers in high-poverty schools lack necessary qualifications compared to higher-income schools
• Teacher shortages are most severe in hard-to-staff subjects including math, science, bilingual education, and special education

“Every child deserves a well-prepared teacher every year of their schooling,” said Jessica Sawko, Director of Education at Children Now. “However, this is not the reality for too many of our kids from low-income families and living in marginalized communities. California can and should do more to not only recruit and prepare a more diverse teacher workforce but also make the systemic changes necessary to ensure they remain in the profession and have opportunities to hone their craft to best support the diverse learning needs of all students.”

A Roadmap for Comprehensive Reform

The policy brief presents policy recommendations – grounded in research and evidence – to strengthen California’s teaching profession. The brief outlines recommendations using a three-pronged approach: Recruitment, Preparation and Retention.

Specifically, the brief outlines policies to:

• Improve recruitment efforts and teacher compensation.
• Enhance teacher preparation programs and expand teacher preparation pathways.
• Implement retention policies that address working conditions and professional development.

Moving Beyond Temporary Fixes

While California has implemented certain teacher workforce initiatives – like the Golden State Teacher Grant and Teacher Residency programs – these efforts fall short of addressing the scale of the crisis. Many programs rely on one-time budget allocations and most sunset by 2027.

“Nationwide, only 28% of educators believe the teaching profession is sustainable, and this is mirrored in California’s struggle to retain educators in the classroom,” said Megan Bart, Deputy Director of Campaigns at E4E-LA. “This problem will not go away on its own. California must prioritize addressing the teaching profession, championing sustained investments informed by data, research, and need to build a diverse, stable, and effective educator workforce.”

The full policy brief is available at: edvoiceinstitute.org/teacher-shortage-solutions-policy-brief/

The following 21 organizations have endorsed this policy brief and align with its recommendations:

Contributing Authors

• Black Educator Advocates Network
• Children Now
• Diversity in Leadership Institute
• Education Leaders of Color
• Educators for Excellence, Los Angeles
• Ensemble Learning
• Families In Schools
• Innovate Public Schools
• TeachStart

Supporting Organizations

• Alliance for a Better Community
• California STEM Network, a Project of Children Now
• Californians for Justice
• Center for Black Educator Development
• Children’s Defense Fund CA
• EdTrust-West
• Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)
• National Council on Teacher Quality
• Partnership for Children & Youth
• Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
• Urban Ed Academy
• Young Invincibles

About EdVoice Institute:

EdVoice Institute, is a 501(c)3 education research, policy, and coalition-building organization that identifies and uplifts scalable policy solutions to improve academic outcomes for children from low-income communities. EdVoice Institute provides evidence-based policy recommendations across our key pillars to reshape public education in California so that all students have futures filled with opportunity. These efforts help build the overall political will for change and aid in persuading legislators to prioritize our areas of focus and policy proposals.

Media Inquiries:

EdVoice@ActumLLC.com

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Policy Agenda Press Release

Today, EdVoice Institute released a comprehensive, research-informed policy agenda to redesign California’s public school system by 2040. “Futures Filled with Opportunity: Reshaping California’s Public Education System for Children from Low-Income Communities,” prioritizes the needs of low-income children to receive a high-quality education—aligning local, state, and national research and best practices with nearly 100 clear, scalable policy recommendations.

READ AGENDA

Early Literacy Policy Brief Press Release

EdVoice Institute—in collaboration with its California Early Literacy Coalition partners at Decoding Dyslexia CA, 21st Century Alliance, Families In Schools, and California Reading Coalition—is excited to announce the release of its Early Literacy Policy Brief. The brief proposes a research-based early literacy policy agenda anchored in the Science of Reading that, if passed and implemented effectively, will help California accelerate its path toward literacy for all students by the third grade.