Fresno Unified School District — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
85 / 106
80.2%
Base Score
76 / 96
Extra Credit
9 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 9 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (19)
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found confirming district-wide implementation of mindfulness or sensory/calming spaces as an official FUSD program.
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found confirming that FUSD students are formally trained to independently facilitate restorative processes (circles/conferences) themselves; the district's restorative work is led by adult Restorative Practices Counselors.
- 1.1 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mandatory cultural competency training for all staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). A statewide LGBTQ+/equity survey reported FUSD's diversity/anti-bias/cultural competency training is <cite index="1-2,1-3">"Partially/Among some but not all staff"</cite> implemented though <cite index="1-3">mandatory</cite>; a 2025 Fresnoland report notes <cite index="11-6">supervisors are expected to complete training relating to FRISK evaluations, the district's bargaining agreement…
- 1.3 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Culturally relevant PD resources in staff learning — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Evidence is topic-specific rather than comprehensive: <cite index="45-13">The district is offering training opportunities for its current instructors who are interested in teaching ethnic studies, including funding to earn a graduate certificate in the subject</cite>. No broader district-wide culturally-relevant PD resource library was confirmed.
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district is building new measurement systems but acknowledges past gaps: <cite index="11-9">The superintendent says the district hasn't had an effective way to measure and track staff training since the pandemic</cite>, and is now <cite index="11-13">building a new model...including a dashboard that will track required and completed training for employees</cite>, indicating work-…
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district is <cite index="11-6">implementing new required training for supervisors on how to properly evaluate employees</cite> and building consistency, but this centers on staff evaluation rather than confirmed discipline-specific consistency training for all staff.
- 3.2 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Staff training in restorative practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Restorative practices training exists but appears regionally piloted rather than universal: <cite index="117-3">McLane High School is part of a Pilot Region of the Fresno Unified School District which is charged with developing and applying Restorative Practices</cite>, indicating partial rather than fully district-wide staff training.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Conflict-resolution skill-building exists through Ethnic Studies and Mediator Mentors curricula, but there is no confirmed evidence of conflict-resolution being integrated into the core curriculum district-wide across all grade levels.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Bias-focused training is reported as mandatory but <cite index="1-2">Partially/Among some but not all staff</cite> implemented, and a 2025 update notes <cite index="11-6">new anti-bias training added for the 2025-2026 school year</cite> specifically for supervisors, not confirmed for all staff.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district's <cite index="76-2">Human Resources and Diversity team...manage recruitment...while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives</cite>, and job listings note <cite index="159-12">Collaboration, cultural competence, and effective communication are essential soft skills</cite>, but no explicit standardized cultural-competence hiring rubric/checklist was found.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Training is targeted specifically at Ethnic Studies instructors (<cite index="45-13">The district is offering training opportunities for its current instructors who are interested in teaching ethnic studies, including funding to earn a graduate certificate in the subject</cite>) rather than broad teacher PD on diverse perspectives district-wide.
- 7.1 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Ongoing anti-bias/equity training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). As with 4.1, anti-bias/equity training is emerging (new for 2025-26 for supervisors) but not confirmed as ongoing and universal for all staff.
- 7.2 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Workshops on culturally responsive teaching — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Workshops on culturally responsive teaching appear limited to Ethnic Studies-specific teacher training rather than a broad district-wide program confirmed for all staff.
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Curriculum, Instruction & Professional Learning department states its vision is <cite index="4-2">to foster an equitable culture of learning with high expectations and rigor</cite>, but specific evidence of equity topics embedded regularly in staff meetings/PD was not confirmed in detail.
- 7.4 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Participation in equity-focused conferences — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Limited evidence found: FUSD hosted an equity-adjacent <cite index="141-1">Fresno Unified School District - Keynote Speaker at the Family Engagement Bootcamp - Fresno, CA</cite>, but no broader confirmed pattern of staff attending external equity-focused conferences.
- 8.3 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Trauma-informed staff training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district provides some trauma-related training tied to state mandate: <cite index="58-10,58-11">In accordance with AB 2246, FUSD provides suicide prevention, intervention and postvention services...training to staff</cite>, but broader trauma-informed training for all staff was not confirmed.
- 12.3 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Benchmarking vs. state/national comparators — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district sets internal targets tied to state/national frameworks (e.g., SBAC, iReady, CCI benchmarks through 2030) and uses the <cite index="51-1">California's Accountability System</cite>, but explicit systematic benchmarking against peer districts or national comparators beyond state dashboard metrics was not clearly confirmed.
- 12.4 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: PD & reflective practice culture — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district emphasizes a professional learning culture (e.g., expanding <cite index="198-1">Universal Design for Learning training for teachers</cite> as an interim guardrail), but a fully institutionalized reflective-practice culture tied specifically to discipline equity was not fully confirmed.
- EC5 [Extra Credit]: Californians for Justice 'Relationship Centered Schools' campaign partnership — a multi-year youth-led racial-justice partnership that has driven concrete district policy changes (lower counselor ratios, expanded race/social justice courses, restorative framework funding). — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). <cite index="22-8">Fresno students have succeeded in lowering the student-to-counselor ratio in their district, expanding race and social justice courses to all Fresno high schools, and…