FOR EQUITY’S SAKE: Pass Critical Legislation and Budget Investments  

“This year, Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Legislature have an opportunity to pass critical legislation and make smart investments to keep equity at the forefront of decision making during this pivotal time,” said Khydeeja Alam Javid, Director of Government Relations at Advancement Project California.

“We are fighting for investments to ensure our children’s wellbeing and to produce equitable outcomes for California’s most vulnerable communities and families.”

Below are a few of Advancement Project California’s statewide policy priorities.

Early Care and Education is proven to provide more opportunities for all our kids, which is why Advancement Project California continues to make ECE a key focus of our statewide agenda. We support AB605, AB1754, AB2292 and AB2626. We also have a budget ask of $1 Billion for Babies, which would increase funding and access to infant toddler care.

Youth leaders from diverse backgrounds are demanding understanding, safety, and inclusivity in their schools.  We are proud to be working with these youth leaders and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson on the Welcoming and Safe Schools for All model resolution. To advance their agenda further, we are proud to be co-sponsoring AB 2291 (Chiu), which provides training and more safeguards to protect our kids from bullying.

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is set to be fully funded. We support community organizations who seek local transparency, which helps them partner with districts to ensure equity dollars are used efficiently to benefit high-need students. While our funding model has become more stable since the passing of Prop 30, our state needs to invest much more in our schools and provide more opportunities for our kids. Therefore, we support AB 2808 (Muratsushi) which aims to increase the LCFF funding base.  And we are proud to stand by our partners to increase investments for our schools and communities through the ballot box, which is why we are co-leading the Schools and Communities First campaign in 2020.

As a proud member and convener of the Census Policy Action Network (CPAN) we are asking the Governor and the legislature to invest additional funding for Census outreach and planning in the 2018-19 budget. Robust investments from the State are crucial to mitigate the impact of recent federal policy changes that exacerbate challenges facing the decennial census. We must remain deeply committed to investing in education and outreach to reach the millions of hard-to-count Californians that are at risk for an undercount.

With the nation’s largest population of children learning English in addition to their home language, California is uniquely positioned to lead the nation in Dual language learning (DLL). Neuroscience shows that the brain is most receptive to language learning in the earliest years of life. Continuing progress in DLL/EL education can help reverse inequities in our schools, while building an education system that embraces linguistic diversity and is simply good for all children in our nation. Therefore, we are supporting AB2514 (Thurmond) which will create a 3-year grant program to support the creation and expansion of DLL immersion programs. We’re also seeking $10 million for DLL and ELL support to create a new Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program in the 2018-19 budget.