Public Advocates Files Complaint to Address Educator Staffing Concerns in West Contra Costa School District
Attorneys at Public Advocates have uncovered numerous teacher vacancies, and the illegal practice of using rolling substitute teachers instead of filling these vacancies with permanent educators.
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A new report exposes how for-profit developers are exploiting a loophole in state law to impose exorbitant rent increases on low-income residents
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Public Advocates has no current position on Proposition 2.
Prop 2 would borrow $10 billion to help modernize schools and support construction costs, but maintains a discriminatory system of funding that prioritizes higher wealth students and districts.
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New national report on social housing available!
"Building Our Future: Grassroots Reflections on Social Housing" examines a growing movement to create permanently affordable housing that is publicly, collectively or non-profit owned and under community control.
Read the report
Public Advocates urges CA college leaders to protect the rights of students and engage in dialogue
"Student protests are a part of our country’s rich democratic history and have been integral to advancing social justice—on and off of college campuses. We call on university leaders to protect students’ First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly. Regardless of opinion, college administrators owe students an opportunity for expression and dialogue."
Read the full statement.

News

From waging battles for affordable housing throughout the Bay Area to winning increased opportunities for a quality education in the courts, Public Advocates stays in the news. Here’s the latest…

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Washington Monthly: Escape from Higher Ed’s Bermuda Triangle

August 26, 2024—Washington Monthly contributing editor, senior fellow at Georgetown’s FutureEd and author of Incomplete: The Unfinished Revolution in College Remedial Education spoke with PA Director of Higher Education, Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, about why remedial classes can be discouraging and oppressive and the progress made to remove remedial education barriers that have negatively [...]

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Ed Source: Lawsuit against West Contra Costa schools could set precedent for how districts handle complaints

August 22, 2024—Ed Source reporter Monica Velez spoke with Public Advocates’ Law Fellow Karissa Provenza about PA’s historic, recently filed lawsuit—with co counsel Munger, Tolles & Olsen LLP— against the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the impact it could have on other districts in California to address Williams‘ complaints filed by students, educators […]

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KQED: Salinas Is Set to Cap Rent Hikes, a Historic Step for Monterey County and Farmworker Towns

August 21, 2024—KQED housing reporter Vanessa Rancaño spoke with Public Advocates’ Senior Staff Attorney Suzanne Dershowitz about the year long historic renters rights campaign in Salinas, a Monterey County farmworking community, that led 5 of 7 local Council members to indicate their approval to have the City Attorney finalize draft rent stabilization, just cause for […]

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We challenge the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transit equity and climate justice.

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