October 2017 Newsletter:

Big Win: $151 Million for High Need Students in LA Schools

In the first-ever case brought to enforce California’s education finance reform law, we sued LA Unified School District, challenging the way they spent funds that under the law are supposed to serve high-need students. In September the case was settled, directing more than $151 million for students in 50 Los Angeles schools! 

Meet our Growing Team

Join us in welcoming six brilliant, new team members to Public Advocates. They're off to a great start and we are delighted that they're here. Say hello to: Jose Alejo , Nemo Curiel , Lynsey Gaudioso , Fabiola Martinez , Hans Moore , and Liz Ryan-Murray !

Housing Bills: The Good and the Bad.

The state is in a full-fledged housing crisis, and this month, Governor Brown signed 15 related bills, including two that we co-sponsored. Some bills were good, some were downright problematic. You can get our take here .

An Unprecedented Finding Against Long Beach Unified

In our complaint against LBUSD, the Los Angeles County Office of Education found that the district misspent $24 million intended for high need students. It was the first time that a county office of education had ruled against a district's spending plan under the new education reform law.

Direct Democracy in Action

Starting this fall, the decision on how to spend $25 million in funding from Caltrans will be decided directly by citizens at the grassroots level. It's direct democracy in action and it's called Participatory Budgeting. We lobbied hard for this new approach to decision making, and we hope that it is just the beginning. Click here to learn why Participatory Budgeting is the future!

Public Advocates in the News

Our $151 million settlement with LAUSD was covered by ABC 7 , the Los Angeles Times , U.S. News and World Report , La Opinión, KPCC , EdSource , and California Patch .....President and CEO Guillermo Mayer co-wrote an op-ed on the pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the San Francisco Examiner , EJW Fellow Anne Bellows had an op-ed in the Daily Journal on how San Mateo County has recognized that renters' rights are civil rights.....Public Advocates is spotlighted in an op-ed on housing in the San Francisco Examiner .....The historic finding by the Los Angeles County Office of Education against LBUSD was covered by EdSource , the Long Beach Press Telegram , and the Long Beach Post .....Managing Attorney John Affeldt was mentioned in an EdSource story about results of the statewide Smarter Balanced Tests.