The Role of California's County Offices of Education and Implications for Arts Education

Overview & Synopsis

For years, California's county offices of education (COEs) have played a role in supporting districts by providing financial oversight, serving as a liaison to the California Department of Education (CDE), and addressing region-specific needs. In early 2022, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation commissioned SRI Education to conduct a study to investigate how county offices of education (COEs) are adapting to their new role in the Statewide System of Support under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and explore the implications for arts education. The goal is to inform county leaders and arts education stakeholders at all levels of the education system as they continue their efforts to expand access to arts education as envisioned in the California Arts Standards and called for in the California Education Code. Specifically, the SRI study team sought to address the following research questions: (1) How has the role of COEs changed over time?; (2) How does the state's arts education infrastructure support COE arts activities?; (3) What local infrastructure supports COE arts activities?; (4) What COE arts activities help build district capacity for the arts?; (5) How many COEs participate in these?; and (6) What other COE activities offer opportunities to improve arts education?