State of Education - Policy, Progress, and the Road Ahead with Brooks Allen
In a year where education policy headlines shift by the week, Brooks Allen, Executive Director of the California State Board of Education and senior policy advisor to Governor Newsom, joined Facilitron University for a grounded and candid conversation about what’s shaping the present—and future—of public education.
In dialogue with Jenn Ford, Head of Accounts at Facilitron, Brooks offered clarity on federal dynamics, school funding volatility, district-level challenges, and what keeps him up at night when it comes to sustaining public education’s mission.
“Everything is deeply uncertain.”
Asked how federal-level decisions are impacting local budgets, Brooks didn’t sugarcoat the complexity.
“They’re making it deeply, deeply complex… everything is deeply uncertain.”
California, he explained, is facing compounding variables: delayed tax receipts due to disasters, unclear federal funding positions, and lawsuits over agency decisions. Districts regularly ask whether key programs like Title I and IDEA could be pulled or reshaped. Brooks’s team remains in active dialogue with federal partners but emphasized that speculation is not a strategy.
“You can only work with what you have that’s certain.”
He described a landscape filled with press releases, policy letters, and executive orders that generate fear but don’t always carry legal weight. In his words, many federal communications these days are more “press release than policy.”
The Implementation Burden Is Real
Local leaders may want change—but often can’t implement it easily. Brooks highlighted how layering new rules on top of outdated ones has made compliance increasingly difficult for districts already short on staff and capacity.
“When you start adding all those rules to aggregate, that becomes very difficult to implement.”
He acknowledged that local districts are caught between urgent community needs and burdensome requirements, often asking the state for two things: more flexibility and more money.
Political Noise and Public Confidence
Despite progress—like California’s universal meals, transitional kindergarten expansion, and new early care guarantees—Brooks warned that political posturing is making it harder to tell the full story of what schools are doing right.
“So much of the current conversation… is eroding really the mission of public schools.”
He expressed concern that public confidence is eroding due to misinformation or politicized narratives, even as school systems are expanding services and innovating to meet community needs.
“If we don’t maintain public confidence in public schools, then really one of the bedrock applications of our democracy and of our community starts to erode.”
Housing, Labor, and What Keeps Him Up at Night
Brooks discussed how staffing and housing challenges intersect with fiscal instability. Prospective educators are discouraged when peers just a few years ahead are burned out, laid off, or underpaid. Add to that contentious board meetings and housing costs—and recruitment becomes even tougher.
“It’s hard to recruit people in a new profession where they’re seeing their friends… all of a sudden they’ve gone in, they’re teaching… and then [they’re] laid off.”
He acknowledged that declining enrollment may provide districts with underutilized land that could be leveraged for workforce housing, but noted this too requires time, funding, and local coordination.
The Data Dilemma
Districts are still struggling to interpret chronic absenteeism, particularly in how it affects funding. Brooks confirmed the state is studying changes to the average daily attendance (ADA) model and how future formulas might better reflect current student behavior.
Facilities Are More Than Infrastructure
On the topic of facilities funding, Brooks stressed that the built environment sends a powerful message to staff, students, and families.
“It sends a message to a child and to a family when you walk up to a school. If it looks well maintained… that says we care about you. If it doesn’t, it sends the opposite message.”
He described progress since the Williams settlement, but admitted that maintenance and modernization still often fall into the background unless crisis brings them forward.
Final Takeaway: Stay Focused, Stay Steady
When asked whether districts should be pivoting in response to rapidly shifting government rhetoric, Brooks offered a message of calm.
“Stay calm, carry on.”
His core advice to district leaders: don’t react to headlines. Look for clear, actionable guidance from official state channels and hold the line on your district’s long-term plans. Many letters and memos are more bluster than policy.
“They’re fairly sparse and they have a lot more rhetoric… What the state is trying to do is provide consistent, clear communication.”