Making History Together
You can’t reimagine public education without trusted friends on the ground and inside the schools.
For more than 20 years, Californians for Justice has played a vital role in Public Advocates’ work. Our success as movement lawyers has depended on the partnerships we’ve built with their brilliant students and organizers. Together we have delivered historic advances for students and communities of color throughout California– from the Greater SF Bay Area, to Los Angeles, the Central Valley, down to Long Beach, and San Diego.
“We trust Public Advocates. They aren’t just lawyers–they are movement builders – and together we’ve made history.”
Taryn Ishida, Executive Director, Californians for Justice
Public Advocates and Californians for Justice have fought for robust school funding and for families to play a direct role in deciding how education funds are spent. We worked for a decade to pass the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) that sent more funding to schools serving more high need students. And last year, we won $3 billion for California to transform schools from not only places of learning, but into true community hubs.
A profound shared belief that creating a thriving public school system means centering the experiences of students of color and students from low-income families. As we emerge from the pandemic, both of our organizations recognize that we can’t go back to the status quo. We are seizing the moment and making sure that the unprecedented resources available in California are used to build public schools where racial equity is centered in every decision and all students, families, and educators thrive.
Taryn Ishida, Executive Director of Californians for Justice said of our partnership, “We trust Public Advocates. They aren’t just lawyers–they are movement builders–and together we’ve made history. We passed California’s progressive education funding law in 2013 that transformed how oppressed communities get resources while giving students & families more say in decision-making. And just last year, we won $3 billion to reimagine schools into more than just places of learning, but as community hubs. Students need allies like Public Advocates.”
