History

The Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) was established at San José State University in 2023 to advance educational improvement through applied research, strategic partnerships, and practitioner-centered innovation.

The Center builds upon earlier statewide initiatives focused on closing opportunity gaps across California’s educational system. Through collaborations with educators, school districts, county offices of education, community organizations, and higher education institutions, IAEP developed a foundation for connecting research, policy, and practice in service of educational equity.

Today, the Center extends this mission by helping educational systems navigate a rapidly changing landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, evolving workforce demands, and new expectations for teaching and learning. While our commitment to students historically underserved by educational systems remains unchanged, our work increasingly focuses on helping educators, leaders, and organizations build the capacity necessary to ensure that innovation strengthens rather than diminishes opportunities for deeper learning.

We are committed to students and communities who have historically faced barriers to educational opportunity, including students in foster care, youth experiencing homelessness, highly mobile students, multilingual learners, and others whose potential has too often gone unrealized within existing systems.