Program Details

Fund Status

In 2015, CEPF shifted to an invitation-only proposal process in order to focus its limited grant dollars and deepen partnerships with a select number of organizations. CEPF grants will primarily continue to support organizations focused on improving policies to advance Deeper Learning with a limited number of grants focused on supporting implementation of practices that promote Deeper Learning.

Current Fund Focus

The California Education Policy Fund (CEPF) is intended to both: (a) advance policy and practice reform to promote Deeper Learning to prepare students for college and career and (b) support a broad, balanced ecosystem of nonprofit organizations working to improve the conditions for education policymaking in the state of California.

Deeper Learning
In almost every aspect of their lives, California’s young people today are being asked to learn more, process more, and produce more. Deeper Learning refers to the set of higher-order skills that students will need to succeed in twenty-first-century work and civic life. These higher-order skills include:

While they have long been essential for educational and career success, today these skills are even more necessary with the rising demands of global commerce, politics, and technology. Moreover, the opportunity to advance Deeper Learning has never been greater than with the advent of the new Common Core State Standards which call for this set of higher order thinking skills and knowledge.

The Common Core State Standards and the aligned assessments produced by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) provide a strong foundation for coordination of California’s K-12 system with Deeper Learning goals. Along with emerging changes in accountability systems and new supports to educators, these reforms can begin to strengthen the college- and career-readiness of California students.

For more information on Deeper Learning, click here.