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Golden State Pathways Program

Provides an overview of the Golden State Pathways Program established in 2022.

About the Golden State Pathways Program

The purpose of the Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) is to provide local educational agencies (LEAs) with the resources to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth.

The Golden State Pathways Program is hereby established to do all of the following:

  1. 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 that allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and, provide the workforce needed for economic growth.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 childcare settings, preschools, and schools maintaining prekindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

In 2022, the California legislature passed the Golden State Pathways Program Grant Act (California Education Code 53020–53025) External link opens in new window or tab..

Technical Assistance System

The GSPP will be supported by a system of support that includes a Lead Technical Assistance Center (LTAC) and up to 8 Regional TACs (RTACs).

Lead Technical Assistance Center

The Lead Technical Assistance Center is led by Tulare County Office of Education in collaboration with California Department of Education (CDE) staff, which will provide information to the RTACs. To ensure all districts who apply for and are awarded the GSPP grant will receive clear and consistent information.

Regional Technical Assistance Centers

The GSPP RTACs will provide technical assistance to potential applicants and grant recipients seeking to establish or expand their pathway programs.

Regions Counties Served Regional TACs
Bay Area
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma Napa County Office of Education
Capitol Area
Alpine, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Solano, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba Yuba Wheatland Union High School District
Central Coast
Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
Central Valley
Amador, Calavera, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office
Greater Los Angeles
Los Angeles Los Angeles County Office of Education
Northern California
Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Humboldt County Office of Education
Southern Coast Imperial, Orange, and San Diego San Diego County Office of Education
Southern Inland Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools

TACs Timeline

Date* Activity
August 22, 2023
Request for Applications (RFA) for LTAC/RTACs released
September 19, 2023
RFAs due to the CDE
September 20–October 4, 2023
Scoring of RFAs
October 11, 2023
Applicants Notified of Award Status
October 23, 2023
Appeals must be received by the CDE

*Dates are subject to change

Grants

There are two separate funding opportunities for the GSPP.

Consortium Development and Planning Grants

Consortium development and planning 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 that are consistent with the requirements of this chapter.

Implementation Grants

Implementation grants are to support a grant recipient’s ability to offer participating pupils high-quality college and career pathways opportunities consistent with the requirements of this chapter.

Grants Timeline

Date* Activity
January 30, 2024 RFA Release Date
March 19, 2024 Applications must be received at the CDE
Begins March 19, 2024 Scoring of Applications
April 9, 2024 Proposed Grantees Announced
April 23, 2024 Appeals must be received by the CDE
June 30, 2028 All funds must be expended

*Dates are subject to change

Contacts

Program Contacts

Dustin Sperling, Education Programs Consultant, GSPP@cde.ca.gov

Michelle Triplett, Education Programs Consultant, GSPP@cde.ca.gov

Maria Burright, Education Administrator, GSPP@cde.ca.gov

June 2023 State Board of Education Memorandum

Fiscal Contacts

Cindy Rose, AGPA, GSPP@cde.ca.gov

GSPP Mailing List

Join the GSPP Mailing List to be notified via e-mail when new or updated information is available.

To subscribe to the GSPP listserv, send a "blank" message to join-golden-state-pathways@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

To unsubscribe from the GSPP listserv, send a "blank" message to unsubscribe-golden-state-pathways@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Golden State Pathways Program | GSPP@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Monday, February 26, 2024