Welcome to new staff!

We are delighted to welcome new staff members to Public Advocates: Executive Assistant Carmen Fernando, Program Associate Alice Li, Senior Staff Attorney Shilpa Ram, Legislative Counsel Andrés Ramos, Senior Staff Attorney Jetaun Stevens, and Director of Higher Education Sbeydeh Viveros Walton. 
We just filed lawsuit on behalf of Oakland's immigrant tenants

We just filed a lawsuit on behalf of Spanish-speaking renters living on 28th Avenue in Oakland! As Staff Attorney Ruby Acevedo said in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Landlords need to know they can't allow these living conditions to persist. Their profound neglect and greed will not be tolerated...they cant exploit tenants who are of limited resources and income.”
Students have had enough!

We can’t keep wasting students’ time and money. But that’s exactly what happens when community colleges offer high school-level classes that don’t help students earn a degree. This video shows why a 2017 law, AB 705, is vital to improving graduation rates. Unfortunately, only 3% of California’s community colleges have implemented the law fully. If you know a student who has been derailed by remedial classes, get in touch with us. We’d love to hear your story. 
Sam Tepperman-Gelfant and Richard Marcantonio Win CA Lawyer Attorneys of the Year! 

Sam and Richard won the California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Award (CLAY) from the Daily Journal for their work representing the plaintiffs in Anderson v. City of San José. This legal victory ensures that all charter cities must follow the Surplus Land Act which requires cities and counties to prioritize affordable housing whenever they dispose of unused surplus land.
More Money for CA Schools!

We know the pandemic has posed huge challenges for school communities and worsened inequity in our education system. Fortunately, in response to advocacy from students, families and educators, the state and federal governments have sent school districts significant funding to address the impacts of the pandemic. Our team has crunched the numbers and here's how much money could go to your school district! It includes funding that districts will receive from the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden!
Rent relief is here!

California has received billions from the federal government to forgive rent. Visit this website to learn about the application process. Forgiving rent is key to our economic recovery. There are 814,000 renter households in California—mainly low-income, COVID-impacted, renters of color—that owe an estimated $2.4 billion in back rent. Since the start of the pandemic, Public Advocates has fought to expand COVID eviction protections and rent forgiveness for California tenants.
Closing a major loophole in K-12 funding

For too long, lax implementation of California's education funding law allowed school districts to divert money intended for high-need students into an all-purpose general fund.
After extensive enforcement efforts across the state, reports highlighting the problem, and, most recently, conversations with the Administration, we're pleased that a solution is in sight. In February, the Administration’s budget trailer bill proposed a comprehensive fix to districts failing to fully utilize their targeted funds and to county offices failing to correct the underutilization. Among several changes being considered, the budget bill would eliminate the possibility that spending plans can be approved without a demonstration that they meet 100% of the district’s obligation to “increase or improve” services for high-need students. Districts would also need to look back on their actual spending at year’s end and roll over any unused funds to serve those same students the following year. Recapturing as much as a billion dollars a year or more is at stake!
Ensuring a Safe, Equitable, and Restorative School Reopening

As the Legislature debated the Governor’s plan to reopen schools, Public Advocates coordinated the submission of letters in late January to legislative leaders urging an expedited reopening, the option for families to continue distance learning, vaccination of school staff, stakeholder engagement, and the inclusion of English learners among student groups prioritized for return at all grade levels in elementary schools. 

We are happy to report that AB 86, which was signed by the Governor on March 5, met our key demands. The bill provides $4.6 billion for supplemental and extended learning (e.g., summer school) and $2 billion to incentivize in-person instruction to student groups with the most urgent needs. Provisions we advocated for include: an earlier reopening start date (March 31 instead of April 15), offering English learners at all grade levels and in all counties (even purple) the option to return to live instruction; requiring districts to provide in-person instruction for at least some grade levels in purple tier counties (where 95% of students live) to receive funding; and requiring districts in red counties to open all elementary and at least one additional 7–12 grade level.
The Voices of Conscience Fund: our civil rights war chest

Support for the Voices of Conscience Fund continues to grow. We're grateful to all our sponsors for leading the way and hope you will join us in 2021. Public Advocates has created the Fund to direct 100% of your financial contribution to building the resources necessary to fight for education, housing and transportation equity. Please click here to explore sponsorship levels.
Public Advocates in the News

Staff Attorney Ruby Acevedo is featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Times and Telemundo in stories about our lawsuit against a callous Oakland landlord....Oaklandside and KQED cover Public Advocates' Oakland lawsuit.....Managing Attorney Richard Marcantonio wrote about COVID safety measures for Silicon Valley bus drivers in Labor Notes.....Managing Attorney Sam Tepperman-Gelfant published a Medium post "5 things renters need to know about COVID eviction protections."
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