Students ask for disaggregated disability data on California dashboard to guide supports

Students representing districts across the state urged lawmakers to add disaggregated disability reporting to the California School Dashboard so educators and policymakers can tailor interventions to specific needs.

Zitian Rieques, a senior from Calistoga High School, proposed adding a dashboard subset that reports test scores, graduation rates and postsecondary outcomes for the 13 IDEA disability categories. Presenters argued that current national data treat disability as a binary and that more granular state data would enable targeted resource allocation and program design.

Students said the proposed dashboard expansion is primarily for policymakers and educators—allowing legislators and district officials to identify gaps—rather than a public‑facing deluge of metrics for parents. Committee members cautioned about dashboard readability and urged designers to balance transparency with usability, such as using expandable web sections for deeper data.

Members expressed support for improved data but asked students to further define which indicators are most useful and how privacy and reporting burdens would be managed. No formal action was taken at the hearing.