What California Must Do to Meet High School Graduation Requirements for 2030
A survey of teacher readiness programs at California colleges and universities found that three in four offer ethnic studies preparation for their future K-12 educators, according to recent research by UCLA and Stanford University. But with uneven access to quality curriculum and a lack of dedicated funding, some public high schools may be unable to offer courses that meet the ethnic studies requirements that their students will need to graduate.
Assembly Bill 101, signed into law in 2021, requires that California high school students take one semester of an ethnic-studies-related course to graduate, beginning with the class of 2030. This means that it will apply to students entering high school next year.
The survey, led by Veronica Terriquez, director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, and Albert Camarillo, an emeritus professor at Stanford, sought to address potential gaps in teaching these required courses.
“We wanted to understand whether colleges and universities are taking meaningful steps to prepare future teachers to engage students in a deeper examination of the histories and experiences that shape California and the nation,” said Terriquez, a professor of urban planning and Chicana/o and Central American studies.
One challenge is that no additional state funding exists for this work. “While we found institutions have taken steps in the right direction, often with limited resources, there is still much work to be done,” Terriquez said.
Conducted in late 2024 and early 2025, the survey analyzed responses from education degree programs at 34 higher education institutions in the state — six University of California campuses, 11 California State University schools and 17 private institutions.
Redefining Belonging: First-Generation Student Sheryl Samala Finds Her Voice in Public Policy From Long Beach to Singapore, Sheryl Samala is breaking barriers and charting new ground in public affairs.
by Peaches Chung
In a field where women of color remain vastly underrepresented, Sheryl Samala, a first-generation college student from Long Beach, is forging her own path in public affairs at UCLA. She has lobbied in Washington, D.C., on issues including diversity, equity and inclusion, freedom of speech, and student support, completed a transformative summer internship in Asia, and held leadership roles in multiple student organizations. As a Filipino American, she is redefining what it means for a woman of color to belong in the world of public policy.
The first in her family to attend college, Sheryl grew up in Long Beach, Calif., but attended the Academy of Medical Arts in Carson. At UCLA, she is now a third-year Public Affairs major with a minor in Labor Studies.
“As a low-income, first-generation woman of color, I remind myself that my voice and perspective are needed in places like government, law, and policy.”
In high school, Sheryl was deeply involved in health-related leadership programs like Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and served as a Peer Wellness Advocate, designing campaigns to promote mental health among her peers. “That’s where I first got inspired to go into the medical field,” she says. Like many students from immigrant families, she grew up hearing that medicine was the most stable, respected career path. “Coming from an Asian American background, pursuing medicine was always encouraged. It felt like the safe choice.”
So, when she started college at UCLA, she immediately declared herself a pre-med biology major. But as time went on, her uncertainty grew, and she began to question whether medicine was truly the right path for her.
The turning point came when she enrolled in Public Affairs 10, an introductory course that explores the social science approaches to solving societal problems. “It completely changed my perspective,” she says. “We were learning about government, history, and systems — and connecting them to current issues that were actually relevant to my life. It didn’t feel intimidating at all, I actually felt empowered.”
Sheryl made the leap from Biology to Public Affairs, a decision that opened new possibilities and, unexpectedly, a new sense of self. “At first, I was scared to switch. But Public Affairs is interdisciplinary — it brings together public policy, social welfare, urban planning, and other specialties. I realized it’s OK to be curious about multiple things.”
Since then, Sheryl has made the most of her time at UCLA, diving into every opportunity that aligned with her growing interest in policy and advocacy. She joined the External Vice President’s Office, where she lobbied in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento on issues like freedom of speech, immigrant student rights, and Pell Grant protections. “It was my first time seeing advocacy in action,” she says. “Being in those rooms made me realize how policy directly impacts people’s lives and how passionate I was about these issues.”
Her academic journey also took her across the globe. This past summer, Sheryl traveled to Singapore for a study abroad internship with United Women Singapore, an organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and helping women pursue careers in STEM. “It was my first time traveling outside the country,” she says. “It was such a transformative experience — learning about a different culture and seeing how their policies and government systems work. There’s a lot I want to bring back to the U.S. from what I learned there.”
The opportunity was made possible in part by the Luskin Student Opportunity and Development Fund, which supports students pursuing racial justice and diversity in the field of public affairs.
Despite her accomplishments, Sheryl still wrestles with imposter syndrome — a feeling shared by many first-generation students who find themselves navigating spaces where few people look like them. “There are times I feel undeserving, especially when I compare myself to other students,” she says.
But she’s making an effort to shift her mindset. “Someone once told me that everyone got into UCLA for a reason,” she says. “Even if we didn’t all have the same experiences, we can still find new opportunities here — or create them for ourselves.”
That message is one she now shares with others. “If you’re passionate about this work, you deserve to be in these spaces just as much as anyone else,” she says. “As a low-income, first-generation woman of color, I remind myself that my voice and perspective are needed in places like government, law, and policy.”
California Communities Impacted by Thousands of Oil and Gas Wells that Feed the Plastic Industry
By Colleen Callahan and Dan Coffee
Plastic production and use have increased exponentially, as have the health and environmental impacts. To address this growing problem, California passed Senate Bill 54 to reduce the use of single-use plastics and foodware in the state. The bill also created a $5 billion fund, supported by the plastic industry, to mitigate plastic-related pollution and support disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities hurt most by the impacts of plastic.
The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation released a report to inform how this law could be implemented by mapping a clear link between fossil fuel infrastructure, plastic production, and vulnerable communities experiencing negative health impacts. It highlights that the state’s work to reduce plastics-related pollution should also consider oil and gas extraction and refining. The report, which builds upon the researchers’ Three-Part Framework for Identifying Plastic-Burdened Communities, finds that wells and refineries are concentrated in low-income communities of color that face other sources of pollution and socioeconomic hardships.
“We found that Californians living near polluting oil and gas sites are much more likely to be Latino or Black, face multiple sources of pollution, and suffer higher risks of cancer, respiratory illness, and reproductive health complications,” said Veronica Herrera, the report’s co-author and a Luskin Center for Innovation-affiliated scholar. “Often, these are low-income communities who may have fewer resources with which to address these compounding issues,” added Herrera, who is an associate professor of urban planning and political science.
The most significant clusters of wells and refineries in California occur in the Bakersfield and Los Angeles regions. Kern County, including Bakersfield, is home to over 70,000 active or idle oil and gas wells — a majority of the nearly 100,000 statewide. Los Angeles County is home to 11 of the state’s 21 operating refineries, with a particular concentration in the working-class community of Wilmington adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles. This research comes after the recent Chevron El Segundo refinery explosion.
“Plastics have been pushed on us by Big Oil, and frontline communities are paying the price,” said Dr. Zoe Cunliffe, Environmental Justice Program Manager at Black Women for Wellness, and a member of the Environmental Justice Communities Against Plastics coalition that advised on the UCLA study.
UCLA’s environmental justice-centered framework is intended to go beyond the broad guidelines written into SB 54, providing an in-depth look at where impacts from the entire plastic life cycle fall across the state.
By using data to see which communities bear the brunt of plastic impacts, we have given decision-makers the information they need to target investments where it will do the most good. —Daniel Coffee, Luskin Center for Innovation project manager and co-author of the study
Fossil fuels are part of this framework because they provide the raw materials necessary to manufacture plastic. Nearly all plastic (99%) is made from oil and gas, and the size of the plastic industry continues to grow. Under current trends, by 2050, 20% of the world’s oil production will go toward making plastic. Increases in plastic waste and pollution are likely to follow.
The report recommends the following policy actions:
- California’s governance decisions around fossil fuels must take plastic-related environmental injustices into account.
- Communities with high exposure risks from the plastic supply chain are good candidates for comprehensive investment programs.
Learn more about this research to inform plastic policy.
Keeping California Children Cool: Strategies for Safe Schools and Homes
By Mara Elana Burstein
As heat waves become more frequent and intense, many California children face unsafe indoor temperatures where they spend most of their time — at home and at school. Access to cooling in homes and schools is now a public health necessity, not a luxury.
Building on years of research on heat resilience and school safety, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation has released a report offering policymakers a menu of strategies to expand access to cooling in homes and schools. The recommendations focus on the installation and maintenance of air conditioning and other mechanical cooling systems, offering practical, evidence-based options for state leaders seeking to protect children where they live and learn.
Children shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their education. Our research shows that California can take immediate, concrete steps to make schools and homes safer from heat. — Lana Zimmerman, project manager and lead author of the report
The report outlines a set of policy and regulatory actions California leaders can adopt:
- Set indoor temperature standards for schools and plan similar action during the 2031 Building Standards Code update, or sooner as an emergency health and safety measure.
- Track cooling access in schools, as the state already does for homes.
- Coordinate agencies through a state-level advisory committee.
- Fund existing programs that support equitable access to indoor cooling by serving high-need schools, homes, and regions.
- Centralize public information and simplify funding processes for local governments and communities.
- Prioritize equity by investing in high-need regions and supporting workforce training for cooling system installation.
These strategies are informed by new data from the 2025 Luskin California Poll that reveal gaps in access to indoor cooling and public opinion on state action. In the survey, nearly half of parents said they’ve kept their kids home because of heat, and yet one in ten households with children lack working air conditioning (AC). Many more Californians avoid using their AC because of high energy bills.
“Expanding access to cooling is about more than comfort. It’s about health and equity,” said V. Kelly Turner, associate director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. “The solutions outlined in our report recognize that children in low-income households and communities of color are often the most exposed to heat and have the least resources to respond,” added Turner, who is also an associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin.
As California implements new investments in school modernization, clean energy, and community resilience, this research offers a timely guide for aligning those efforts. The report, “Keeping Californians Safe with Cooling Systems in Homes and Schools,” underscores that keeping classrooms cool and homes safe is essential to a healthy, equitable future for the state’s children.
Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles: A Conversation with Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra and UCLA scholars warn that the fight for fair representation is far from over.
As our country prepares for another election cycle, questions about representation and the integrity of American democracy continue to dominate public discourse. On October 28, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs hosted “Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles,” a Luskin Lecture co-sponsored by the UCLA Voting Rights Project. The event featured former California Attorney General and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, who delivered a keynote address on the challenges and opportunities in protecting democracy ahead of the next round of redistricting.
Becerra was joined by Chad Dunn, director of litigation for the UCLA Voting Rights Project and a lead litigator in the ongoing Texas redistricting lawsuit, and Dr. Natalie Masuoka, professor of Political Science and Asian American Studies at UCLA and an expert on voting behavior and minority representation. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Matt Barreto, professor of Political Science and Chicana/o Studies and faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.
Drawing from his decades of public service at the state and federal level, Becerra underscored the fragility of democratic systems when power is unchecked. “As we’ve seen over the last 10 months, the federal government has a ton of power, and wields it in ways that exceed what the Constitution intends,” he said. “There are limits to federal power, but if you have someone who decides to exceed the scope of that power, you can see how damaging it can be for the states.”
Throughout the evening, panelists emphasized the critical importance of ensuring that voters retain control over the redistricting process. Becerra contrasted California’s citizen-led commission process with state-controlled redistricting systems in Texas and Florida. “In California, voters have a say. In Texas, the people living in those voting districts have no say in how the maps are drawn,” he said.
The conversation explored the upcoming Proposition 50 vote in California, which would temporarily establish new district boundaries based on the latest population data. Becerra and his fellow panelists examined how the proposal could affect representation, particularly for communities of color.
Dunn, who has spent years challenging partisan gerrymandering, framed the issue as a fundamental question of voter rights. “I believe the right to vote is individual, not aggregate,” he said. “If someone is being gerrymandered on the basis of their political views, that is a violation of their right to vote, full stop. And there ought to be a redress for it in court.”
He went on to note that the composition of Congress does not currently reflect the nation’s diversity. “This action to silence voters on the basis of their race and political views will be successful to some degree,” Dunn said. “What California does to press back on it isn’t just fighting fire with fire—it’s ensuring that Congress is as representative as it can be of this nation as a whole.”
Dr. Masuoka emphasized the dual nature of redistricting: while it can be used to suppress certain communities, it can also be a tool for empowerment. “Redistricting can discriminate and marginalize voices of color, but the reason we passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act is that redistricting can also increase minority voting power,” she said. “As we look forward to voting on Prop 50, we can protect democracy and ensure that we have protections for voters of color.”
Becerra urged the students in the audience to remain vigilant and engaged. “The most powerful weapon we have is truth—and the willingness to use our voices and our cameras to protect it.”
From Liberia to Luskin: A Public Policy Student’s Journey of Purpose and Impact Prince L. Jarbo, MPP ’26, is using his Air Force experience and UCLA education to drive change in his home country.
by Peaches Chung
Prince Larmie Jarbo, MPP ’26, brings a global perspective to his studies at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Shaped by his upbringing in Liberia, his faith, and his service in the U.S. Air Force, he’s determined to use public policy to create lasting change in his home country.
Jarbo first came to the United States at age 12 but returned to Liberia at 14. “When I came back to the U.S. again at 18, I joined the Air Force,” he recalls. Determined to pursue a debt-free education, he served while completing his bachelor’s degree online. His military experience — and his life across two continents — instilled in him resilience, adaptability, and a profound sense of duty.
That same sense of service guides his work today as the founder of Project Change, a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to cultivating the next generation of changemakers in Liberia.
“Project Change inspires young Liberians to take ownership of their future,” he explains. “Through personal and professional development, we’re helping them move from dependency to possibility — giving them the mindset and tools to lead. And we instill in them a responsibility not only for themselves but also for helping rebuild our country.”
Liberia, a West African nation that endured two devastating civil wars between 1989 and 2003, continues to rebuild from years of conflict and economic instability. Growing up amid the aftermath shaped Jarbo’s belief that lasting change requires both effective policy and governance and empowered citizens.
“Liberia has suffered a lot as a post-conflict nation,” Jarbo explains. “I feel a sense of responsibility to help bring about change. Everything I’ve learned outside my country, I’m bringing back to improve it.”
Jarbo is already applying what he’s learning at UCLA as chairman of Project Change and as co-president of the Public Policy Leadership Association (PPLA), a student group that fosters an inclusive and equitable learning environment for his peers while advocating for their interests across campus. In the classroom, his coursework has broadened his understanding of stakeholder engagement, data-driven decision-making, and long-term economic strategy. “I feel a sense of responsibility to help bring about change. Everything I’ve learned outside my country, I’m bringing back to improve it.”
“The program doesn’t just teach theory,” he says. “It helps you design real solutions and put them into practice.”
His time at Luskin has not only equipped him with the tools to lead change — it has reaffirmed something deeper — the “why” behind his work. For Jarbo, faith remains the foundation that ties it all together. “Faith gives me clarity about why I’m here and what I’m called to do,” he reflects. “It’s what connects my service, my studies, and my vision for Liberia’s future.”
As he looks ahead to graduation in 2026, Jarbo is preparing to return to Liberia with renewed purpose. “My time at UCLA has given me more than an education,” he says. “It’s given me direction, a network, and the confidence to go back and make a difference.”
For Jarbo, that difference begins with one simple idea: empowering others to believe that change is possible.
Book by Kian Goh Honored by Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
UCLA Luskin’s Kian Goh has been awarded the 2025 Paul Davidoff Book Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
Goh’s book “Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice,” published in 2021 by MIT Press, explores the politics of urban climate change responses in different cities — New York City; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Rotterdam, Netherlands — as well as the emergence of grassroots activism in resistance.
“The study brings both ethnographic depth and impressive critical theory to one of the most important issues of our moment,” the ACSP Award Committee said, praising Goh for skillfully drawing a throughline across disparate geographies in a way that does not feel contrived.
Goh is an associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin and associate faculty director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Her research focuses on urban ecological design, spatial politics, and social mobilization in the context of climate change and global urbanization.
The Paul Davidoff Book Award recognizes an outstanding book publication regarding participatory planning and positive social change, including opposing poverty and racism and addressing social and place-based inequalities. The award honors the memory of Paul Davidoff, who established the field of advocacy planning and worked toward social equity in the profession.
