Only half of public school students in California meet the state standards in English, and only 40 percent are proficient in math. We sat down with Lance Izumi, the Senior Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute, to talk about why the public school system is failing our kids and what policymakers can do to change this trend.

In 2016 and 2017, Izumi served on President Trump’s transition Agency Action Team for education policy. As a member of the transition team, he drafted policy papers and recommendations for consideration by the Trump administration.