Last year, the California Legislature passed a new law--the California Mathematics Placement Act--to address widespread concern over equity in the math placement process. The law is aimed at improving the measurement of student performance in order to move more students successfully through the high school curriculum. In this context, researchers surveyed California's school districts during the 2015-16 school year to examine their placement policies right before the law took effect and to identify district needs for technical assistance while implementing the new law. Findings reveal that: (1) Districts need help in determining how to proceed; (2) Despite uncertainties, most districts are implementing the new law; (3) Across districts, there is a strong need for valid, reliable, and objective performance measures; and (4) Districts face a number of other challenges. This report offers recommendations for several actions for helping districts comply with the law and improve their math placement process. These include establishing evidence-based measures, refining the approach to teacher recommendations, and identifying effective placement protocols. In the longer term, districts would benefit from using student data to improve equity issues and from increased staffing, especially in rural and high-need districts. [This report was written with research support from Melo-Jean Yap and Lunna Lopes.]