Make A High-Quality Public Education a Constitutional Right

Do you believe…?

“All of California’s school-age children should have the right to attend a high-quality public school governed by policies that prioritize their educational interests.”

Then join our coalition today!

Students Matter for California

Californians that strongly support a constitutional right to a high-quality public education for all students.

Our education system is failing our students.

Did you know?

The data are alarming! According to the California Department of Education, only 33% of CA’s students met math standards, while only 47% met English Language Arts standards, in 2022.

Test scores are now about where they were when the testing system began in 2015-16 — erasing years of progress.

“Growing up in East Los Angeles, I was kicked out of the Catholic school my single mother had worked so hard to send me to, and was sent to a public high school known as a ‘drop-out factory.’ I was bored and unchallenged and felt like the school was giving up on me. So, I gave up on myself and dropped out. If it wasn’t for my mother and a teacher who pushed me to go back and finish high school, I wouldn’t have gone on to become the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in over 130 years.

For me, public education really was the great equalizer. We owe it to every California child – no matter the color of their skin or the money in their family’s pocket – to build a world-class education system. That’s why I believe education is the civil rights issue of our time.."

- Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005-2013

“Public education is the great equalizer in our democracy. The fifth largest economy in the world, the state with the most public school students, and the state with the most immigrants, and children of color must ensure that in policy, word, and deed, kids come first."

- Christina Laster, National Action Network

Make a donation.

Establishing the right to a high-quality public education will prioritize students by empowering public school parents and caregivers, civil rights groups, and advocates to challenge laws and policies to ensure that:

  • All public school students, especially low-income children, and children of color, have access to high-quality public schools.

  • California considers quality in all of its education policies.

  • Budgets are focused on supporting children in the classroom.

  • The quality of schools is independent of district boundaries.

  • There are high-quality teachers in every classroom.