The needs of students should be the first district priority. When students needs are not being met - if they are hungry, unhoused, abused or suffering with an undiagnosed mental health condition it can be impossible for them to learn.

    • SERVE STUDENTS - Many of the decisions made in educational systems de-prioritize the needs of the students. Students perform better when they are safe + fed and their concerns are validated.

    • PROTECT TEACHERS AND SCHOOL STAFF: Attacks on educators and curriculum make headlines in other parts of the country. But, the same regressive elements exist in Southern California. Instead of accusing, we must empower and support teachers and staff.

    •FULLY FUND AND DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION : LAUSD has dwindling enrollment and ample reserves. Yet class size remains large and schools across district 1 still lack basic resources and repairs.

POLICY FOCUS

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Public schools, especially those in park poor areas of district 1, should be used as community resources. Schools should serve the whole child while also connecting the community to services and filling the still large holes in our healthcare system by providing services to families.

BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Over 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education separate is still unequal. Yet, the funding, resources and services that Black students receive are still inequitably distributed. The worsening polarization in our country and vigilante killings require school systems to think about and more directly address the impact of racial trauma on Black students, teachers and staff through large investments in mental health services. Teachers and staff should receive continuing education that prioritizes cultural competence so that they can more successfully address the comprehensive needs of Black students.

CONSISTENT AND EQUITABLE FUNDING

LAUSD has a reserve of $4.9 billion dollars. But, there are still schools in district 1 where students are routinely asked to bring water from home due to the condition of the pipes. This is unacceptable. The Local Control Funding Formula and Local Control Action Plans enacted in the last decade look good on paper. But, have resulted in schools who typically struggled from a lack of resources continuing to get the short end of the stick. Ultimately, a move to split roll taxation and a revocation of prop 13 are needed to guarantee sustainable finding. But, in the interim the district’s ample reserves could be put to better use.​

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Provide effective and expansive special education services by advocating for the full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

IMMIGRANT SERVICES

Los Angeles is a City of Immigrants. In order to provide the most productive learning environment for immigrant students, the programs and services provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District must more thoroughly reckon with this reality by creating a Department of Immigrant Services.

GREEN NEW DEAL FOR SCHOOLS

We must decarbonize schools across the country and install sustainable heat pump systems so that students do not have to suffer through the climate change heat waves or cold snaps. This could also include:

• Installing solar panels and batteries

• Making school buildings safer

• Developing disaster plans for schools

• Utilizing solar panels for community solar

• Creating pathways to green jobs

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

Governor Newsom signed legislation in 2022 that cleared the way for school districts to build housing for employees. The Santa Barbara School District is already taking advantage of these changes working in concert with the city's housing authority. In all, the state's school districts own 150,000 acres of land and that 75,000 acres could be developed into affordable housing. Former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner and others in the district have spoken about the need to build housing. But, efforts have been fragmented. By working with the Housing Innovation Collaborative and other groups LAUSD can build affordable workforce housing on campus while working with nonprofit developers to use LAUSD owned land to build housing for low income families.

This will decrease housing instability for low income students and hopefully prevent effects like malnourishment, domestic violence, psychological trauma and abandonment, which can accompany economic insecurity.

ADULT EDUCATION

Not everyone takes the traditional route to education. LAUSD must make sure that resources for Adult education are accessible and that adult students receive the support that they need to succeed.

ACCOUNTABILITY

All schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District should be subject to the same standards of transparency and accountability, charter or not. All teachers, families and students should have the same protections. We must work towards a district with uniform accountability and protections for all schools, employees and students.

CLASS SIZE

Smaller class sizes benefit everyone. Teachers have more time to address students individually, students get more direct support and parents are more able to interface with teachers due to lessened competition. The district should work towards a class size that encourages questioning and criticism during class and lessens the burden of out of class follow up by decreasing the number of students in the class overall.

HISTORY

While Critical Race Theory is generally not taught in K-12 schools, much of the foundational history that the theory is based upon is essential for developing minds. We must work to impart the true history of this country and abandon its myths.

SCHOOL SAFETY

Many of the most vulnerable students instead of feeling protected by the police presence on school campuses, feel targeted. The presence of police on campus sets carceral expectations and encourages the idea that problems should be solved using force. Removing law enforcement from campuses will prevent the pathologizing of our students and decrease the likelihood that they will join the cradle to prison pipeline.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

District 1 is a particularly park poor part of the LAUSD school system. But, more than that it is one of the most polluted areas within Los Angeles County. Pollution can have deleterious effects on a developing minds. School sites should be utilized as park spaces outside of school hours and on weekends. But, we must also advocate with our city, state and national representatives to prevent the continued location of polluting industries within District 1.

PROTECTING LGBTQ+ STUDENTS & STAFF

Los Angeles is not immune​ to the wave of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQIA hate. LGBTQIA+ students, teachers and staff must be kept safe. They must go to school and work with the confidence that they will be safe and that their beliefs and opinions will be respected. The struggles of LGBTQIA+ individuals should not be minimized and their contributions not overlooked. LAUSD should emphatically affirm the value of all individuals; students, teachers and staff.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES + EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

The district should work towards screening each student each year for Adverse Childhood Experiences, particularly those in grade school. Practices put in place when students are young can greatly affect their life outcomes. Additionally, the percentage of students with high ACES scores can be used as an arguing point to advocate for increased funding for schools with a preponderance of students with high scores or with particular ACES.

MENTAL HEALTH

COVID-19 has had a profound effect on the mental health of students who lost years of socialization during a key developmental period. Even prior to the pandemic mental health resources were scarce with psychologists and social workers assigned to multiple schools. We must hire a greater amount of mental health professionals and take steps to make sure that they are able to be retained.

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