Policy & Legislation
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”
— John F. Kennedy
ACEI supports and/or has supported the following legislative actions
AB 2774
The Alpha Community Education Initiative was proud to be a co-sponsor of AB 2774.
AB 2774 was drafted to fix a fundamental flaw in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in the state of California by creating a new supplemental grant for California’s lowest-performing subgroup of students not currently receiving funding, which are currently African American students. AB 2774 was authored by Assembly members Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) and Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and was sponsored by the Fortune School of Education.
OUTCOME - Ultimately, the author of the bill, Assembly member Akilah Weber pulled the bill before its arrival to the Governor’s desk with a promise from Governor Gavin Newsom to stakeholders to address the issue in coming January budget. To date, no action has been taken by the Governor’s office to provide an alternative remedy to the Local Control Funding Formula of California
AB 2598
The Alpha Community Education Initiative was proud to co-sponsor AB 2598.
AB 2598 was written to give California schools the tools necessary to allow the use of restorative justice best practices as an alternative to suspension, expulsion, or arrest. It would require the California Department of Education (CDE) to work with stakeholders to develop a standard model to implement restorative justice best practices on a school campus and make the standard model available on the CDE's Internet Web site for use by school districts to implement restorative justice practices as part of efforts to improve campus culture and climate. AB 2774 was authored by Assembly member Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego)
OUTCOME - AB 2598 was approved and signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 23rd, 2022 and filed with the Secretary of State on the same day.
JUSTICE FOR BLACK COLORADANS
The Alpha Community Education Initiative is a supporter of the Justice for Black Coloradans initiative.
The lasting effects of slavery and ongoing systematic racism continue to negatively impact Black Coloradans and communities in tangible, material ways. These racist roots have led Black Coloradans to be wrongfully subjected to government-backed redlining, disparities in educational access, inequitable health care, police brutality, a lack of economic mobility and inability to build generational wealth, a broken criminal justice system and more. These systematic racial disparities have impacted Black Coloradans over generations and have led to a reality where nearly half of Black families are considered low-income. Studies have shown, however, that working to reduce racial disparities benefits society and all communities and leads to greater economic vitality and stability and builds the workforce. In fact, national research shows that closing the racial wealth gap could increase GDP from 4 to 6 percent.
IN PROGRESS - On February 1st, 2024, the Colorado Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs passed SB24-053, a racial equity study bill that would establish the Black Coloradan Racial Equity Study Commission.