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 Coalition Leadership

Antonio Villaraigosa

Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005-2013

Antonio Villaraigosa is a respected voice in American politics and a prominent policymaker with a keen understanding of America’s mainstream and emerging communities. Known for his exceptional skill at building broad bi-partisan coalitions, he draws support from the broad center of progressive Democratic and Republican voters.

  • Mr. Villaraigosa is currently a Partner and Co-Chair at Actum where he focuses on strategic and crisis communications advising c-suite executives in large public and private sector organizations.

    In August 2022, Mr. Villaraigosa was appointed to be the Infrastructure Advisor to the State of California, working with local, state, and federal leaders to identify priority projects and maximize access to federal funding across all regions of the state.

    In 2013 Mr. Villaraigosa finished his two terms as the 41st Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, after eight years of major strides in transportation, crime reduction, infrastructure, energy and resource sustainability, right-sizing government, business development and education reform.

    Prior to his election as Mayor, Mr. Villaraigosa served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 2003 to 2005. From 1994 through 2000, Mr. Villaraigosa served in the California State Assembly as Democratic Whip, Majority Leader and Speaker of the Assembly. He was a member of President Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board, the 2012 Chairman of the Democratic National Convention and President of U.S. Conference of Mayors.

    Mr. Villaraigosa also has served in academia, as a fellow at Harvard University and a professor in public policy at the University of Southern California. He was also a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he has served on the McGraw Hill Global Education Board of Directors, and currently serves as Board Chair of The Change Company.

    He also serves on numerous non-profit Board of Directors including but not limited to UC Merced, AltaMed, and Peace Over Violence.

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.