LIF began policy work in education over a decade ago, focusing primarily on increasing access to higher education for California students. In 1991, LIF published the first report card on the status of Latinos at the UC, CSU and community college level. LIF also created the Hispanic Coalition on Higher Education and the Chicano/Latino Intersegmental Convocation during this time. Currently our education policy work is focused on k-12 education and seeks to:
- Develop a Latino Education Policy Agenda for California, and
- Bring new voices into California’s education policy dialogue.
Today, Latinos comprise the majority of students within California’s public school system. Of the 6.3 million students enrolled in k-12 public education in California, 46N, or 2.9 million, are Latino. Despite the numbers, only 34N of all graduates are Latino, while 54N of all high school dropouts are Latino. Among Latino high school graduates, less than one in four complete high school with the UC/CSU required courses needed to gain admission into a state university.
The state of our public school education system has not significantly improved over the past few decades, and in some cases California is worse off than it was in the past. In a national survey conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation, 50N of Latinos say that schools have stayed the same or are getting worse.
While the problem is evident, the solutions are less clear and visible. In 2004, LIF began a first of its kind analysis of bills introduced by Latino legislators and were surprised to find almost 100 education bills introduced by Latino legislators. The larger question that remains unanswered is what the relationship is between such a diversified education legislative agenda and improving student learning in California?
Although there is an assortment of educational priorities for the Latino Legislative Caucus, there are few Latino voices integrated into designing or advancing their education policy. This is a fundamental dynamic that must be challenged and changed. Representation at every level of decision-making is crucial for the growing number of Latino students in the school system today.
As Latinos continue to comprise a majority of students within our school system, it is imperative to identify policies that will improve student achievement in the coming years and to include Latinos as stakeholders in reforming education.
As LIF is relatively new to k-12 education policy, there are several ways in which we are approaching our work in this area. We are working to engage in coalition work with partnering organizations, identify gaps in information and research, and produce advocacy materials that can be used by a broad range of advocates in California. Therefore, our current work focuses on:
- New Education Leaders
This is a project that is currently funded in part by the Hewlett Foundation, which seeks to diversify and increase the number of Latino leaders in California that are active on statewide policy issues. LIF has partnered with the California Latino School Boards Member Association (CLSBA) to hold educational briefings and produce an education policy agenda.
- Legislative Bill Analysis
LIF is currently conducting an assessment and analysis of education legislation introduced by Latino legislators over the past three years. The assessment will be used as a discussion point to figure out where education legislation is strong and identify any gaps or needs that are currently not being fulfilled.
- Latino School Board Representation
LIF understands the need for equitable representation on boards and committees throughout the state. We have been working with Professor Luis Fraga at Stanford University to compile data on the representation of Latinos on school boards throughout the state. LIF will provide an analysis, including GIS data maps, to identify the areas of greatest under representation in the state.
In addition to our program and policy work, LIF is also increasing our coalition work with other organizations. The following are a few examples of our coalition-building work.
California Latino School Boards Member Association
CLSBA is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to ensuring that Latino students have the best educational opportunities and resources available to succeed. CLSBA is committed to meeting the educational needs for all Latino students by working with educational organizations and empowering current and future Latino School board members.
Education Justice Collaborative
The Education Justice Collaborative (EJC) is an expanding network of community organizations, researchers, educators, policy and legal advocates working toward a more equitable and fully resourced system of public education in California. Each participating organization engages in its own work for educational justice. The participants in the Education Justice Collaborative share the ultimate goal of providing a first rate education for every child in California, and specifically to make sure that this is possible for the groups of students currently receiving the most deficient education—students of color, low-income students, and immigrant students.
The Latino Report Card: On the Status of Chicanos/Latinos at the California State University, August 1991
The 1992 Latino Report Card: On the Status of Latinos at the University of California, November 1992
Latino Persistence in Higher Education, September 1994
Beyond the Classroom: An Analysis of California's Public School Governance, August 2006
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