our expertise

SPECIAL EDUCATION

State policy:

  • Oversaw the design and execution of multiple studies documenting the complexity of California’s special education finance, governance and accountability systems.

  • Oversaw the design and execution of:

    • A workgroup examining opportunities to improve graduation rates for students with disabilities through alternate pathways to a diploma.

    • A workgroup examining how to improve the quality of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) through a re-examination of IEP templates and IEP goal development.

  • Supported resources for a descriptive analysis of the placement of students with disabilities in nonpublic schools.

  • Institutionalized reforms proposed by the SB 75 Improving IDEA Part C to Part B Transitions workgroup, and the Med-Cal workgroup.

  • Monitored disproportionality and significant disproportionality by race in disability identification categories and discipline.

  • Streamlined the calculation for special education base funding, and the allocation of educationally related mental health funds.

  • Liaised with the UCSF Multitudes Project on the development of its multilingual and multimodal dyslexia screener.

Advocacy:

  • Partnered with the Wiyot Tribe and Bear River Rancheria to file a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights complaint alleging violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, impacting Native American students.

ALTERNATIVES TO EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, &
STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH

State policy:

  • Served as K-12 liaison to the Child and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, including integration with Community Schools implementation.

  • Represented the State Board of Education on the Governor’s Behavioral Health Task Force.

  • Collaborated with the state Office of the Surgeon General on the development of the Safe Spaces trauma informed practices modules for TK-12 educators.

  • Oversaw California’s implementation of Multitiered Systems of Support, in partnership with Orange County Department of Education and Butte County Office of Education.

Advocacy:

  • With the Fix School Discipline Coalition, successfully advocated for the passage of AB 420 (Dickinson, 2014), the first of several laws intended to eliminate the use of willful defiance as grounds for suspension and expulsion.

  • With the Stockton Education Equity Coalition, supported community members and Stockton Unified to align school discipline policies with state law, and implement restorative justice practices.

Contributing researcher to:

COLLEGE/CAREER READINESS & POSTSECONDARY SUCCESS

Contributing researcher to:

TEACHER PREPARATION & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

State policy:

  • Monitored the initial implementation of the Golden State Teacher Grant, administered by the California Student Aid Commission.

  • Supported the design and implementation of the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy.

Contributing researcher to:

CALIFORNIA’S STATEWIDE SYSTEM OF SUPPORT

State policy:

  • Oversaw the establishment of the Special Education Resource Leads in the statewide system of support.

  • Supported the integration of the Regional English Learner Specialists within the statewide system of support.

  • Advised the California Dyslexia Initiative, a partnership between Sacramento COE and UCSF.

  • Oversaw the establishment of the Educator Workforce Investment Grants.

LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA

State policy:

  • Negotiated the IDEA Addendum to the LCAP to support inclusive district level program and budget planning.

  • Negotiated the inclusion of parents of students with disabilities as required members of LCFF Parent Advisory Committees.

Advocacy:

  • With the LCFF Equity Coalition, trained students, parents and community members on the implementation of LCFF.

  • Supported local coalitions throughout the SF Bay Area and the Central Valley in advocating for transparency and equitable local plan investments.

Contributing researcher to:

ADDRESSING RACIAL BIAS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

Advocacy:

  • Led workshops to train Muslim community members on their rights with local and federal law enforcement, and affirm their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

  • Conducted community outreach and education to Muslim congregations and student groups that had been profiled and documented in FBI post-9/11 surveillance reports.

  • Partnered with local San Francisco organizations to pass an ordinance limiting racial profiling of the Muslim and Arab/Middle Eastern communities by restricting collaborations between local law enforcement and the FBI.

    • The Safe San Francisco Civil Rights Ordinance was passed in Spring 2012, and the city terminated its partnership with the FBI in early 2017.

PROTECTING STUDENTS’ RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Advocacy:

  • Supported collaborative efforts with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to close investigations that unjustly targeted protected student speech and political activities at three University of California campuses.

  • Alongside litigation in Baker v. Katehi, collaborated with UC Davis undergraduate and graduate students to find and reform a freedom of expression policy developed in the aftermath of the November 2013 UC Police Department pepper spraying of student demonstrators at UC Davis.

  • Led workshops and trainings on students’ rights to protest and civil disobedience at UC and CSU statewide student conferences.