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Public Advocates Nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that partners with grassroots community groups to fight poverty and racial discrimination.

Yesterday, we were in court arguing that California’s school facilities funding formula is unconstitutional. That same e...
10/08/2026

Yesterday, we were in court arguing that California’s school facilities funding formula is unconstitutional. That same evening, both candidates for State Superintendent debated the same issue with EdSource —and agreed.

Richard Berrera: “We should change the formula and it shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit.”

Sonja Shaw: “This is absolutely a nightmare.”

Students in communities like Coachella Valley, Del Norte, and Parlier don’t have running water, have roofs caving in, and are learning in toxic crumbling buildings while wealthier districts get state funds for modern schools
The formula that created this crisis has been in place for nearly 30 years.

Both candidates for State Superintendent said it out loud. The state has run out of excuses. ⚖️🏫

California’s November ballot is packed, and many measures directly affect housing, transit, schools and civil rights for...
10/08/2026

California’s November ballot is packed, and many measures directly affect housing, transit, schools and civil rights for the communities we serve. Here’s where Public Advocates stands. Swipe for the details ➡️

✅ YES on Prop 1: Housing Bond, including $200M for community anti-displacement and preservation
✅ YES on Prop 3: Keep K-14 school funding stable
✅ YES on Prop 40: Fill health care gaps without cutting schools, housing and transit
❌ NO on Prop 39: Don’t put up new barriers to voting
❌ NO on Props 41 & 42: Don’t tie the state’s hands on new revenue
❌ NO on Prop 43: Keep local housing and transit measures within reach
❌ NO on Prop 45: Protect CEQA and community input
📍 Bay Area: YES on RTM (regional transit) · SF: YES on Measure H (Muni)
📍 Fresno County: YES on Measure S · Redwood City: YES on renter protections · Salinas: Protect renter protections

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Check your registration and make a plan to vote. 🗳️

Public Advocates takes positions on ballot measures and does not endorse candidates.

ClimateJustice

Today in Oakland, we stood up for students in court who are learning in buildings with toxic mold, failing AC—while thei...
10/08/2026

Today in Oakland, we stood up for students in court who are learning in buildings with toxic mold, failing AC—while their wealthier peers get state funds for modern schools with pools, theaters, innovative science labs and pristine classrooms, water fountains and capacious cafeterias.

California’s school facilities system has shortchanged low-wealth communities for nearly 30 years. We’re in court to change that and make right real.

Rodriguez v. State of California is our generation’s Serrano v. Priest—and we’re just getting started. ⚖️🏫

Our team was in the room with Catalyst California this weekend for the 2026 Champions for Equity Awards! ✊🏽Senior Staff ...
10/06/2026

Our team was in the room with Catalyst California this weekend for the 2026 Champions for Equity Awards! ✊🏽

Senior Staff Attorney Alicia Virani and Senior Program Associate Alice Li spent the afternoon with organizers, advocates, and community leaders from across California who are showing up for each other when it counts. With so much at stake right now, gatherings like this remind us we’re not doing this work alone.

Congrats to all of this year’s honorees, and thank you, Catalyst California, for bringing the movement together. 💛

What a joy to be in community at the Latino Community Foundation State of California Latinos gathering in the Fruitvale ...
10/03/2026

What a joy to be in community at the Latino Community Foundation State of California Latinos gathering in the Fruitvale this past Thursday! 💛

We (Guillermo Mayer Sbeydeh Viveros Walton Andrés Ramos Angela Estrada) spent the afternoon with partners, friends, and organizations serving California’s Latino communities, talking about building community power, resilience, and above all, LOVE.

Some special reunions:
📸 A selfie with Carmela Castellano-Garcia, who served as a PA staff attorney and then managing attorney from 1991 to 1997. Once a Public Advocate, always a Public Advocate!

📸 PA Board member Sergio García, who spoke on the Battleground California panel, and the incredible Amelia Gonzalez, founder of Casa de Chocolates and a fierce champion of Latino arts and culture.

Gracias, Latino Community Foundation for bringing us together. ✊🏽

19 renters. 14 landlords and developers. A meeting that ran until 11 p.m. 🏠At the Sept. 29 study session, Vallejo City s...
10/02/2026

19 renters. 14 landlords and developers. A meeting that ran until 11 p.m. 🏠

At the Sept. 29 study session, Vallejo City staff used data from “The Right to Thrive”, the tenant-led report released in August. Then they recommended waiting ANOTHER year.

We said no. The City promised renter protections in its Housing Element more than a year ago. Other cities have already done this work, so Vallejo doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel.

The Mayor asked whether ordinances could be drafted. The City Attorney said it could be done in two weeks. The City Manager said even one year was tight.
The result: Council asked for an update in 45 days on what comes next. That’s not a timeline for protections, and renters are still waiting.

📅 Next City Council meeting: Monday, Oct. 13. Show up. Speak up.

Thank you to Cristál Gallegos of VallejoHousingJusticeCoalition and Public Advocates’ Skylar Speak for speaking up for Vallejo renters, Urban Habitat & the Vallejo renter community . 💪

It’s official 🏠✊Governor Newsom just signed SB 1091 creating the Community Anti-Displacement and Preservation Program an...
09/29/2026

It’s official 🏠✊

Governor Newsom just signed SB 1091 creating the Community Anti-Displacement and Preservation Program and taking a landmark step toward keeping low-income families in their homes and communities.

As our Legislative Counsel Andrés Ramos put it:
“Decades of disinvestment, redlining, and exclusionary policies created this crisis—and the market alone won’t fix it. Even in cities building at scale, lower-income renters are being left behind and paying more. CAPP is California’s answer to that reality. By financing the acquisition of existing housing and converting it to long-term affordability, CAPP puts state resources directly in the hands of communities to preserve the homes families already live in. The solution has to start with the people most impacted—centering community voice, investing in preservation, and ensuring state dollars reach the families that need them—not just the households the market finds profitable.”

Now we need to fund it. Vote Yes on Prop 1 this November, the Veterans & Affordable Housing Bond, includes $200 million to make CAPP real. Learn more at yesonprop1ca.com.

Thank you to Senator Caballero for authoring this bill, and to our co-sponsors Housing California, CA CLT Network, and Enterprise Community Partners . 💪

CaliforniaHousing CommunityLandTrust AntiDisplacement

Governor Newsom just made it legal for California’s most vulnerable students—those with special needs—to spend nearly 40...
09/29/2026

Governor Newsom just made it legal for California’s most vulnerable students—those with special needs—to spend nearly 40% of the school year with a barely-trained substitute standing in for a real teacher.

This is not a compromise. Less than a year ago, his own veto message promised to protect these students. Today, he abandoned them.

What the bill does: lets districts staff special education classrooms with substitutes who’ve had just 5 hours of training—for up to 70 days.

Last year, the governor told the CTC to build real training standards. They spent the past year doing exactly that. This bill undoes it before it even starts.

Students with special needs deserve better.

Read our full statement—link in bio.

Public land. Public good. 🏡Sen Lake is officially open; 91 homes of 100% affordable housing on the shores of Lake Merrit...
09/26/2026

Public land. Public good. 🏡

Sen Lake is officially open; 91 homes of 100% affordable housing on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood.

It almost didn’t happen. In 2015, the City agreed to sell this public land to a developer for luxury apartments. The resident-led East 12th Street Coalition said no and Public Advocates (with partners Public Interest Law Project- Lewis & Clark Law School Eastlake United For Justice) stood with them, reminding the City that the Surplus Land Act puts affordable housing first on public land.

A decade of deadlines missed, meetings packed, and pressure sustained later, the community won.

Today: 67 permanently affordable homes for families earning 30–60% of AMI, plus 23 units of permanent supportive housing for people who have experienced homelessness.

Congrats to EBALDC, Jordan Real Estate Investments, TheUnityCouncil—and above all, the neighbors who never stopped fighting for this land. 💪🏽

“Advocacy works because people organize, apply pressure, and push systems to deliver.” 💪Our Deputy Managing Attorney Ang...
09/25/2026

“Advocacy works because people organize, apply pressure, and push systems to deliver.” 💪

Our Deputy Managing Attorney Angelica Jongco took the main stage at the Education Equity Forum to share the real story behind California Partnership for the Future of Learning multi-year fight for permanent community schools funding AND the wins that came from it.

Her biggest lessons:
🌱 It started with deep listening to students and families
🤝 Grassroots organizing + a trusted backbone network mobilized and aligned the field
🎯 Identify champions inside the system in addition to applying outside pressure
📚 Narrative strategy wasn’t an add-on; it ran through everything

“Policy is only as good as its impact on students’ lived experience.” Implementation has to be part of the plan from day one.

Thank you to moderator Rachel Ruffalo (-West), fellow panelists from Californians Together and TICAS, and the Education Equity Forum for the space to share these lessons. ✊

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