(Same as LAW 809X). Efforts to elevate student voice in education decision-making have grown over the past decade - through state legislation, district governance structures, and school-based student groups. Leaders increasingly recognize that student perspectives are critical to improving outcomes amid persistent challenges in K-EDUC 12 education. Yet existing student feedback mechanisms rarely capture the voices of students most impacted by those challenges - those whose experiences most clearly reveal where systems are failing. The Roses Talk Project (https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-center-for-racial-justice/projects/roses-talk-elevating-student-voice-in-policy-practice/) aims to counter this oversight through a novel research-practice partnership model that draws on the unique experiences of marginalized students to shed new light on policies and practices that harm or support marginalized students to inform education decision-making. With around EDUC 25,EDUC 000 students, SJUSD is the largest school district in Santa Clara County, the county where Stanford University is located. District leaders and administrators at Gunderson - a Title I high school in South San Jose - have identified a collective need to better understand how to support "at-promise" students (a positive reframing of "at-risk" that is reflected in California education law). Building on a successful pilot that resulted in a first-of-its-kind set of recommendations (https://law.stanford.edu/2026/EDUC 02/EDUC 24/roses-talk-san-jose-unified-rethinking-education-policy-through-at-promise-student-voices/) for SJUSD and Gunderson grounded in marginalized student voices, the next phase of the project aims to: (1) validate initial findings through additional data collection and engage in comparative analysis between Phase I and Phase II; (2) evaluate the implementation of Phase I policy recommendations for their effectiveness in responding to student input; and (3) develop evidence-based guidance for SJUSD and Gunderson on how to translate student insights into actionable policy and practice interventions in the near- and long-term. This course uniquely integrates Youth Participatory Action Research into Phase II of the project. Stanford students will not only conduct research about marginalized students but will do so alongside them. Beginning in fall quarter and leading into winter quarter, Gunderson students serving on the Promising Voices Student Advisory Board (PVSAB) will join the Stanford policy lab as co-researchers, participating in data collection, analysis, and policy development. This collaboration ensures that young people most affected by these policies are active in developing solutions and building research and policy skills that enable them to serve their community beyond the project. In turn, Stanford students are provided a distinctive opportunity to participate in community-engaged learning and research, apply technical skills and academic knowledge to real-world challenges, and contribute to positive educational outcomes for underserved students - while building genuine partnership. This policy lab is unique in that the course offers what few do: a chance to collaborate with the at-promise students it is meant to serve.
2-5 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
(Same as LAW 809X). Efforts to elevate student voice in education decision-making have grown over the past decade - through state legislation, district governance structures, and school-based student groups. Leaders increasingly recognize that student perspectives are critical to improving outcomes amid persistent challenges in K-12 education. Yet existing student feedback mechanisms rarely capture the voices of students most impacted by those challenges - those whose experiences most clearly reveal where systems are failing. The Roses Talk Project (https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-center-for-racial-justice/projects/roses-talk-elevating-student-voice-in-policy-practice/) aims to counter this oversight through a novel research-practice partnership model that draws on the unique experiences of marginalized students to shed new light on policies and practices that harm or support marginalized students to inform education decision-making. With around 25,000 students, SJUSD is the largest school district in Santa Clara County, the county where Stanford University is located. District leaders and administrators at Gunderson - a Title I high school in South San Jose - have identified a collective need to better understand how to support "at-promise" students (a positive reframing of "at-risk" that is reflected in California education law). Building on a successful pilot that resulted in a first-of-its-kind set of recommendations (https://law.stanford.edu/2026/02/24/roses-talk-san-jose-unified-rethinking-education-policy-through-at-promise-student-voices/) for SJUSD and Gunderson grounded in marginalized student voices, the next phase of the project aims to: (1) validate initial findings through additional data collection and engage in comparative analysis between Phase I and Phase II; (2) evaluate the implementation of Phase I policy recommendations for their effectiveness in responding to student input; and (3) develop evidence-based guidance for SJUSD and Gunderson on how to translate student insights into actionable policy and practice interventions in the near- and long-term. This course uniquely integrates Youth Participatory Action Research into Phase II of the project. Stanford students will not only conduct research about marginalized students but will do so alongside them. Beginning in fall quarter and leading into winter quarter, Gunderson students serving on the Promising Voices Student Advisory Board (PVSAB) will join the Stanford policy lab as co-researchers, participating in data collection, analysis, and policy development. This collaboration ensures that young people most affected by these policies are active in developing solutions and building research and policy skills that enable them to serve their community beyond the project. In turn, Stanford students are provided a distinctive opportunity to participate in community-engaged learning and research, apply technical skills and academic knowledge to real-world challenges, and contribute to positive educational outcomes for underserved students - while building genuine partnership. This policy lab is unique in that the course offers what few do: a chance to collaborate with the at-promise students it is meant to serve.
Offered in Autumn 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027 at Stanford University.