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An Equitable California
We are building the foundation for a California where everyone is secured a livable future with economic dignity, political efficacy and social security. That begins by ensuring that California has the best public schools in the nation, that our teachers are paid well, and our students have all the resources they need.
Public School Equity
What is the problem?
For too long, we have under-funded our public schools and bought into the rhetoric funded by privatizers telling us that our public schools are failing. Our public schools are not failing. We have simply been failing our public schools.
Privatizers will tell us that charter schools are the answer. However, after decades of research, there is no definitive evidence that charter schools perform any better than public schools. In fact, the lack of charter school oversight often leads to difficulty in improving or closing underperforming charter schools.
Additionally, Covid-19 laid bare the inequities in our education system and the need for full and equitable funding. Too many students don’t have access to necessary learning technology or regular nutritious meals. We know students were struggling with trauma before Covid-19, but the toll of the pandemic has increased that trauma exponentially.
The trauma school children experience - whether at home or at school - plays a long-term role in developing brains and achievement opportunities. Chronic underfunding, systemic injustices, the fear of being shot at school, aggressive school resource officers (SROs) who often behave as school police - all of these issues build trauma upon trauma.
In a country where every child goes to school daily with the fear of getting shot, lock down drills add to this fear. School lockdown drills often create agitation and stress in students from kindergarten through high school that most adults today did not have to contend with while growing up. In addition, 40 years of research on school policing showed no positive impact on school safety outcomes. Rather, students feel less safe with SROs - and the presence of SROs leads to higher rates of suspensions and expulsions, particularly for Black and brown students.
Too often our schools unintentionally retraumatize our children rather than create a safe and healthy learning environment. Our schools should be a safe space, led by trauma-informed practices, where all of our students feel safe and supported so they can thrive.
What is Mia’s plan?
Mia will refuse any money from the California Charter School Association. She will fight first to preserve and strengthen our public school system. She will advocate for more funding on the state and federal level for all of our schools and look for common sense plans to reallocate funds from programs that are proven to not work. Every parent has a right to choice, but every student in our city deserves access to a high quality education close to their home. Mia will advocate for greater charter school oversight and accountability. She will support the Students Deserve movement to remove police from our schools and to increase mental health and other support services for our students. Mia supports Anthony Portantino’s SB 830 bill to base school funding on enrollment rather than attendance. School is where children build a foundation of self-esteem and community support. Leading with compassion, trauma-informed policies, meeting students where they are at, and investing in equitable, diverse, and socially responsible education will plant the seeds for a stronger and more united future.
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Democracy Reform
What is the problem?
Our democracy is in serious need of reform. Rather than representing the needs of the people, our elected leaders seem only to care about powerful corporations and wealthy donors. Nearly 50% of contributions made to elected officials last year came from corporations. We can draw a straight line between the power of corporate donors and the passage of policies that benefit only the wealthiest amongst us. The amount of money that you have should not determine the power of your voice in a democracy. Mia will work hard to ensure we all have an equal say in the halls of our government.
What is Mia’s plan?
Mia will start by supporting transformative democracy reform legislation in the Assembly like (AB20) Corporate-Free Elections Act which would prohibit corporations and their political arms from contributing financially to elections. In addition, she would introduce stronger transparency laws to allow us to know who is financing SuperPACs and Independent Expenditures (IEs). It is also time to cap and lower the contributions individuals can give to campaigns, parties, and PACs. Matching Funds should also be considered for all state legislative candidates to level the playing field. Money is not free speech, and your net worth should not determine your political influence.
Mia also believes that voting should be accessible and easy. She will stand against any attempts to disenfranchise folks from voting while supporting efforts to invest in voting education and outreach. She will also champion expanding voting rights, making it easier to vote through programs like automatic voter registration and mobile voter outreach units.