In “The Work Behind Policy: How Social Capital Translates Across Systems,” Lorenzo Sianez Jr., Career Management Lead, San Diego State University (SDSU) and Program Manager, SDSU Research Foundation and Maria Morales, Statewide Policy Director at Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) invite us to explore how social capital operates throughout the policy lifecycle, from design to implementation. Authors note that policy does not move across systems on its own. It depends on relationships, trust, and ongoing coordination to translate intent into practice. Drawing from their experiences as 2025–2026 Education Policy Fellowship Program fellows, the authors examine how social capital shapes policy design and implementation across advocacy, legislative, and higher education contexts. The blog explores how alignment is sustained across institutions and why strong relationships are often the difference between policy becoming a pathway to opportunity or another barrier for students.

The rapid ascent of generative AI in education is often framed as a “Gutenberg moment”—a shift that promises to democratize personalized learning and level the playing field (Marohn, 2025). For policymakers and practitioners, however, the reality is more complex. AI carries the risk of deepening systemic inequities through what researchers call “digital redlining” (Greenlining Institute, 2021). We must look beyond the magic of the interface and confront its less visible consequences: access, bias, and environmental impact.

As the windfall of pandemic funds dries up, school districts across California are confronting deep structural deficits. At the same time, federal immigration crackdowns have sent waves of fear through school communities, forcing educators and local leaders to scramble to protect immigrant students while the media blasts images of five-year old children being detained. Meanwhile, educators themselves are reaching a breaking point — overwhelmed, exhausted, and increasingly walking out in strikes across the state. Ashley Powers Clark draws comparisons between these current crises that have now become a part of our daily operating conditions, and the arduous growing conditions of the California poppy.