What State Superintendent of Public Instruction Thurmond said: “By establishing career technical pathways that are also college preparatory, the Golden State Pathways Program provides a game-changing opportunity for California’s young people. I am very proud of today’s investment. Creating pathways that are truly both college-bound and career-ready shows our students that career exploration is all about opening doors and expanding possibilities. I look forward to seeing our students gain entry to competitive wages and thriving futures.”

What State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond said: “I am grateful to Governor Newsom, the Legislature, and State Superintendent Thurmond for prioritizing this funding and recognizing that we must target these resources to LEAs that need the most assistance—those with higher than average rates of dropout, suspension, foster youth, and student homelessness so we can do more to provide these vulnerable populations with the skills and training they need to compete for jobs in high-wage and high-growth areas.”

What this means

Of the $470 million awarded today, $422 million was awarded to LEAs in the form of implementation grants slated to support the grant recipient’s ability to offer participating pupils high-quality college and career pathways opportunities. Golden State Pathways Program integrates college preparatory coursework meeting the A-G course requirements for admission to state universities and the opportunity to earn 12 college credits with career exploration, CTE courses and work-based learning.

The remaining nearly $48 million went to LEAs in the form of consortium development and planning grants. These grants are to support collaborative planning between a grant recipient and their program partners in the development of high-quality college and career pathways opportunities.

Golden State Pathways Program background

The Golden State Pathways Program is the result of funding included in the 2022 Budget Act passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Newsom.
The program was established to do all of the following:

• Promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including (but not limited to) technology, health care, education (including early education and child development), and climate-related fields.
• Encourage collaboration between LEAs, institutions of higher education, local and regional employers, and other relevant community interest holders to develop or expand the availability of innovative college and career pathways that simultaneously align with an LEA’s local or regional labor market needs.
• Enable more pupils to access postsecondary education opportunities and workforce training opportunities or to obtain gainful employment in an industry that simultaneously aligns with local, regional, or state labor market needs.
• Support the continued development of a skilled and educated workforce with an emphasis on addressing areas of acute statewide need, such as developing a diverse workforce to meet the need for professional and learning support positions in child care settings; preschools; and schools maintaining prekindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

This program is in alignment with the Governor’s Master Plan for Career Education, which will align and simplify the TK-12, university, and workforce systems in California to support greater access to education and jobs for all Californians, and with the State Superintendent’s efforts to connect California’s students with high-wage, high-growth career paths through high-quality career education opportunities.