California Education Interagency Council

Frequently Asked Questions

Why California Needs Coordination

Why is statewide education and workforce coordination a high priority?

California is the only state without a coordinating entity, a state department, or a governing body specifically addressing statewide higher education issues. Without such an entity, our state creates siloed programs that fail to reach Californians, and our state as a whole suffers. This results in wasted money, Californians stuck in poverty, and employers without the skilled employees they need.

When education aligns with workforce needs, students and workers receive better training and higher-paying jobs; employers find more qualified candidates; communities thrive, with an engaged citizenry propelling society forward; and our state builds a strong, inclusive, and resilient economy in which everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Note: California Competes prepared a one-pager summarizing the challenges coordination can solve here.

What do supporters envision as a result of improved coordination?

Supporters envision a future where:

• Education and workforce training options align with industry needs and state priorities (like education, climate, health, and housing), promoting a prosperous economy and vibrant communities.
• Planning, resource allocation, and infrastructure are coordinated across various agencies and systems, leading to more consistent and sustainable funding at the local level.
• Statewide and regional career education councils support integrated planning, resource allocation, data management, and other critical activities to move away from the current fragmented and siloed systems.
• Data and technical infrastructure are linked to create a clearer picture for decision-making at all levels.
• Educators, including workforce training providers, and employers work together to create aligned curriculum and more work-based learning opportunities, resulting in faster and smoother transitions to good jobs, particularly those addressing state priorities.

About the Proposed Council

What is the mission of the statewide coordinating Council and staff?

The mission is to proactively address California’s rapidly evolving workforce and employment needs, coordinate educational efforts with workforce needs, and foster collaboration across sectors and regions to create effective student pathways and support adult upskilling.

What will the Council do? What will the staff do?

The Council serves as a leadership body providing operational guidance and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature. It will create a public forum for cross-sector communication and discussion, as well as review reports and deliverables developed by the Office.

The Office acts as an administrative body supporting the Council by staffing meetings, developing the strategic plan, creating policies and regulations, gathering research, evaluating data sources, reviewing data to identify progress and gaps, making recommendations, administering and supporting collaborative work on student pathways, and coordinating learning opportunities across TK-12 and higher education. The Office has administrative functions, including data evaluation, making recommendations, and supporting collaborative work. The Office may also administer interagency programs, adopt rules and guidelines for those programs, and allocate funding if appropriated.

Who are the proposed members of the Council?

The trailer bill language specifies eight members: (1) President of the State Board of Education, (2) State Superintendent of Public Instruction, (3) President of the University of California, (4) Chancellor of the California State University, (5) Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, (6) Chief of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, (7) Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and (8) Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Note: California Competes recommends adding the Director of the Department of Finance and the Executive Director of the coordinating office to the council.

Why establish this Council within the Government Operations Agency (GovOps)?

GovOps is a neutral state office with a record of creating new initiatives and fostering collaboration, including those related to education and workforce. For example, it houses the Cradle-to-Career Data System (C2C), which provides tools to help students reach their goals and delivers information on education and workforce outcomes. C2C will provide the Council’s staff with a wide range of education and workforce data.  

How will Council meetings take place and how will they be organized?

The Council will meet every six months to ensure the strategic plan is implemented and to provide a forum for public input. Between meetings, office staff would convene workgroups that would include Council members; these workgroups would advance the entity’s efforts between the Council meetings.  

Funding Details

Why is ongoing funding requested?

The educational and labor market landscape is constantly changing. This Office will ensure California remains competitive and responsive to employers and workforce needs while improving worker and student experiences in navigating their education and career paths. This is not a one-time activity.

How will the $5 million be invested?

The budget change proposal requests hiring 16 staff to support the strategic planning and implementation. The table below lays out the administration's expected spending timeline.

Is this a good use of our money given our current fiscal environment?

Yes! In times of economic uncertainty, maximizing existing investments is crucial. This Office's work will streamline the state’s existing efforts, reduce wasteful duplication, and ensure every dollar spent on education and workforce development yields the greatest possible return. By improving student and workforce outcomes, the work will directly bolster California’s economy and make the most of the state’s resources when they are needed most.

Support and Outcomes

Who supports the establishment of the Council and the office?

There is broad support from the administration, legislators, leaders in the field, students, workers, employers, and advocacy organizations. Note: California Competes shared this coalition sign-on letter of support at the most recent budget hearing.

• The need for state and regional coordination was consistently identified as a top priority during listening sessions related to the Master Plan for Career Education in each region of the state.
• The legislature has championed several bills in prior years, aiming to establish a coordinating entity, and in 2025, three legislators introduced legislation to improve statewide coordination: Assemblymember Fong’s AB 95, Senator Cabaldon’s SB 790, and Senator Padilla’s SB 638.
• Governor Newsom included $5 million in the proposed January budget, reflecting administrative support.

What are the Council’s goals and how will they be measured?

The overarching goal of the entity is to ensure California's education systems meet the demands of its workforce and economy by coordinating efforts and facilitating communication across various agencies. Measurable goals will be established through the strategic plan, guided by the Council and revisited every five years to adapt to changing education and workforce needs. Current trailer bill language requires regular reports to the Legislature to evaluate whether the entity is achieving its goals.

What is the value of achieving those goals to the state?

Currently, California spends billions of dollars on education and workforce development efforts. Yet, California has become a state of haves and have-nots with the widest income gap in the nation. This entity will help ensure that those billions spent by the state are used more effectively, easing the path for more Californians to economic stability and improving the functioning of the various state entities working to create better educational pathways for residents.

Models, Existing Efforts, and Distinctions

Hasn’t California made significant investments in career and educational pathways?

California offers a myriad of programs and supports to address education and workforce needs, but they are disconnected across agencies and departments and often do not reach the intended participants. This fragmented structure leaves too many Californians without the skills to secure well-paying jobs, and employers lacking the workforce they need. An example of this is that nearly $1 billion invested in the Golden State Education and Training Grant Program (GSETGP) and the Learning-Aligned Employment Program was largely unspent before cancellation because the programs struggled to be rolled out due to issues that could have been addressed if we had greater coordination. Note: California Competes created a workforce primer to showcase the various investments made and their siloed and fragmented nature.

Do other states have a coordinating entity? Are any of these entities similarly structured to this proposal?  

Every other state has a coordinating entity; however, their governance structure, location, membership, and authority vary. Washington and Missouri’s entities are the most similar to the proposed council,  covering TK-12, higher education, and workforce. Both have demonstrated success and impact.

• The Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB) is an 11-member partnership of TK-12 and higher education, labor, and business leaders. While the board creates the policy objectives, the board is supported by a separate Director who administers programs and board policies. Among its accomplishments, the WTECB modernized the education and career platform to be more interactive and engaging for younger users and has grown its viewership.
• The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development is a citizen board representing each of the state’s nine congressional districts. They focus on workforce development policies, TK-12 and higher education coordination, and policy development, research, and alignment with regional workforce needs. The Department approves academic programs, provides a unified budget for the Legislature to consider, and convenes meetings with regional workforce development boards to share best practices. The Department successfully partners with the state Department of Corrections on re-entry programs and postsecondary enrollment for people in prisons.

Where can I learn more about state coordinating entities?

For more information about the link between state workforce entities, TK-12, and higher education entities, see the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2024 Brief on Aligning State Education, Workforce Development, and Benefit Systems to Support Students or the Education Commission of the States’ brief, Education and Workforce Development Connections.

How does the council differ from the Governor’s Council for Career Education?

The proposed Council differs significantly from the existing Governor's Council for Career Education, which is specific to this administration. The proposed Council would build on the lessons learned and would have more and longer-lasting operational authority as a cross-sectoral and systems-level coordinating body. It will have a broader scope, hold public meetings,  and have an enhanced coordination infrastructure with a dedicated managing office and staff. The Council will have fewer members but will incorporate regular input from the public and workgroups.

How will this office work with existing systems and programs in California? Will this duplicate efforts in other departments?

No, this entity will not duplicate efforts. This office would focus on intersegmental and cross-sector efforts. California does not have a statewide entity that does this with the broad vision and mission of TK-12, higher education, and workforce in mind. Without this, the state has to set up specific councils, workgroups, and task forces to focus on a targeted population or issue. For example, to address transfer, the legislature created the Associate Degree for Transfer Intersegmental Implementation Committee. Piecemeal approaches force the legislature to monitor closely all intersegmental and cross-sector challenges and inefficiently legislate coordination strategies.

Instead, the proposed council would be staffed with experts to focus on this, relieving the legislature to stay focused on its key priorities. Moreover, the proposal requires the Council to guide the creation and implementation of a strategic plan, which includes assessing the feasibility of consolidating and co-locating similar initiatives across agencies, further reducing any wasteful duplication.

Looking Forward

How can this reorganization take place, considering the current Governor has only a limited amount of time left in office?

California should act now to improve coordination. The proposal recommends launching the Council by July 1, 2025. The entity would hire, convene, and set the first five-year strategic plan. The plan and required funding of its activities would ideally be jointly approved by the Governor and the Legislature in the 2026 budget, allowing for continuity beyond the current administration through the legislature’s leadership. All state agencies manage leadership transitions, including the GovOps Agency. The need for greater coordination is too urgent to wait for California’s next governor.  

How can we ensure that the next Governor will support this new entity?

This proposal has broad support from administrators, legislators, leaders in the field, students, workers, employers, and advocacy organizations, supporting momentum for the next Governor to utilize the Council and office. The Executive Director and several Council members are governor-appointed, providing an opportunity for the new administration to work collaboratively with the Council. The legislature can partner with the new administration to continue progress.