It is time to move beyond outdated systems of educator pre-service preparation, certification, professional development, and evaluation, and transition to a coherent, competency-based, educator professional learning system. To do this, we must prepare teachers for learner-centered systems, which entails different knowledge, skills, and dispositions than teaching in traditional classrooms. An important part of modernizing the educator workforce and closing achievement and opportunity gaps is a teaching workforce that reflects the diversity and life experiences of today’s communities and schools. Black and brown students do better academically, experience fewer disciplinary incidents, and form stronger and more trusting bonds with teachers who look like them, promoting deeper learning. It’s imperative to support the pipeline of high-quality, black and brown instructors to ensure that all students are equipped with the skills necessary for success. The path to becoming a teacher needs to be more accessible and affordable. The increasing costs of teacher and leader education programs exclude many people of color from the workforce but policymakers can prioritize increasing access and affordability of higher education. Although state policymakers alone cannot drive all changes necessary to shift the conditions for teaching and learning, they can play important roles in initiating and coordinating collaborative approaches and enacting targeted policies.