The California Education Coalition for Health Care Reform (CECHCR) is a statewide partnership of management and labor organizations representing the state’s public school and community college districts. Its members are committed to improving health care quality and reducing costs in the state's public education sector through training, education and advocacy.


CECHCR was formed in 2005 through a grant from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in response to escalating health care costs and the devastating impact they are having on the public education sector. Beginning in June 2007, funding was provided by The California Endowment, California HealthCare Foundation and CECHCR member organizations.

For more information:
CECHCR Executive Summary
Update on CECHCR Initiatives

A central part of the coalition’s work is the development of the CECHCR Health Benefits Training Modules and Follow-Up Services offered to districts free of charge. The information and tools presented in the trainings empower districts to make smarter health care choices by shedding light on the complex maze of health benefit issues so they can leverage their knowledge to identify solutions that improve services and save money. To date, CECHCR has trained labor-management teams in over 350 districts throughout the state, and its efforts are having an impact.

In 2010 through a collaborative process aimed at exploring alternative, cost effective methods of providing coverage, CECHCR introduced a design for a statewide public education risk pool that promises a new direction in health care purchasing for California’s public education community. CECHCR believes that a school pool is a sustainable solution to the health care crisis in education that will lower costs, improve services and streamline collective bargaining while improving labor-management relationships. All CECHCR-member organizations have now signed on to the concept. Key issues to insure the success of the pool are being hammered out, and the drafting of school pool legislation has begun.

After participating in several pilots, CECHCR formally introduced its Module V Second Opinon services in 2011. When individual districts are faced with runaway costs, CECHCR’s team of health benefits experts, J Glynn & Co., work with labor and management to reduce costs and improve quality—often saving the district and employees millions of dollars on medical, dental, vision, pharmacy and related expenses! Module V begins with a desk audit to determine if savings are possible, and continues with a comprehensive evaluation and recommendations. There are no fees for this service unless or until savings are implemented. Read more.

We hope that you will join us in working towards improving the quality and reducing the cost of health care for all school employers and employees in California’s public schools. We welcome your input and suggestions. For further information, or to request training or Module V services, email Vicky Sjol, CECHCR Executive Assistant, or call her at (916) 567-9911, ext. 18.

CECHCR is an initiative of the non-profit Center for Collaborative Solutions (CCS). See www.ccscenter.org for more information.