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ARLETA – Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) issues letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Superintendent Austin Beutner asking for an end to their daily student search and frisk practices.

On June 18, 2019, as part of United Teacher of Los Angeles’ teacher strike negotiations, LAUSD passed BUL-5424.1, to impose a districtwide ban on random searches and seizures of students by July 2020. LAUSD came to the consensus that these search practices should be banned due to the harmful psychological, emotional, and social effects on these students, yet the ban was not immediately implemented.

“Schools should not feel like prisons, and students should not be treated like criminals. Students should feel safe and supported when they enter their school campus. These types of stop and frisk practices are ineffective, target students of color, promote discrimination and injustices, erodes trust between teachers and students, and students lose out on quality class time,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. “It is time we put an end to this outdated approach, which is why I have requested that these search and frisk practices are immediately ceased in all LAUSD schools.

The University of California, Los Angeles conducted a comprehensive study on LAUSD’s mandatory metal detector search logs and concluded that these searches were frequent, not random, disproportionally targeted specific students, and far too intrusive.

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39th Assembly District, which includes the City of Los Angeles communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and the City of San Fernando.

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CONTACT:
Judy Yee, Judy.Yee@asm.ca.gov, 916.319.2039

SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) welcomes Los Angeles City Council President, Nury Martinez to the California State Capitol and honors her on the Assembly Floor. In January 2020, Martinez became the first Latina elected to be Los Angeles’ City Council President in its 170-year history. Martinez represents Council District 6, the Northeast San Fernando Valley, continues to be dedicated to serving families and individuals throughout Los Angeles. 

Martinez was born and raised by Mexican immigrants in the San Fernando Valley. She was elected to the City Council in 2013 and was the only female elected official in the City of Los Angeles at the time. Today, she is one of only two women on LA City Council and holds its highest position.

“Nury Martinez is truly a role-model. She has shattered the glass-ceiling for Latinas time-and-time again,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. “Growing up, there were no women that looked like us in positions of power and having that representation matters. I am encouraged to know that little girls all over our state can see that through hard work and dedication any dream is within reach. Nury Martinez is the embodiment of California values, and I am proud to call her my friend.” 

“It is an honor to be recognized at the California State Legislature,” said L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez. “I thank my friends Assemblymember Luz Rivas and Senator Maria Elena Durazo for their support. As Latina legislators and as children of immigrants, I hope we inspire little girls across the state to dream big, work hard, and know that they will be next. I look forward to working with my state partners to push a families-first agenda to help working poor families, women and children throughout the state and the City of Los Angeles.”

Martinez is a fierce advocate for working families, children, environmental justice, and resolving the housing and homelessness crisis. She led the effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Los Angeles so that low-income and working-class families can make a living wage and take care of their children.  She is currently leading the effort to expand paid parental leave for all parents to bond with their new-born infants without the fear of losing their jobs. Martinez is dedicated to doing more to address homelessness, while preventing families from falling into homelessness.   

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39^th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and San Fernando.

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CONTACT:
Judy Yee, Judy.Yee@asm.ca.gov, 916.319.2039

SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) reintroduces legislation to identify California homeless students, so they can receive the resources they need to succeed. “We can’t provide homeless children assistance if we are not identifying them in the first place,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.

Assembly Bill (AB) 1937 is a continuation of previous legislation, AB 16, which sought to establish a comprehensive policy solution to assist local communities that are struggling to identify, and provide services to homeless families with children, but was vetoed last year. AB 1937 will create three geographically located County Offices of Education to develop Regional Technical Assistance Centers, to implement best practices used for identifying and connecting homeless students to services. Additionally, this legislation will create a standardized process for identifying homeless children across all of our school systems.

Assemblywoman Luz Rivas jointly led an audit looking into local and state policies used to identify and provide support to children experiencing homelessness. The California State Auditor found California’s K-12 education system has been ineffective at identifying and providing supportive services for homeless youth. The State has identified at least 200,000 homeless children, yet 400 school districts have failed to report a single homeless child. In response to the scathing report issued by the Auditor, AB 1937 incorporates key recommendations from the audit to ensure schools administer an annual housing questionnaire to identify homeless pupils so no child is left behind.

“The math does not add up,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. “AB 1937 will identify homeless children who are hidden in plain sight at our public schools, so the state can deliver resources more effectively. The State Auditor’s report concluded that California is not adequately meeting the federal mandate to identify homeless students. It means nothing to be the state with the 5^th largest economy, if we are failing our children by continuing to allow them to slip through the cracks. One homeless child, is one too many. We need to show these kids that we care, that they matter, and that we want them to succeed.”

“Student homelessness is not an issue that will simply go away if we pretend it isn’t happening,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “If students experiencing homelessness are not being identified, they are not getting access to the services they need to be successful. I am proud to have lead on the audit that produced many of these recommendations and look forward to partnering with Assemblymember Rivas to ensure California is adequately supporting students experiencing homelessness.”

According to UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, there are 204,085 enrolled homeless students. The top 10 counties with enrolled homeless student are, Los Angeles (53,000), San Bernardino (24,300), Orange (24,200), Riverside (16,000), San Diego (15,300), Santa Barbara (8,700), Monterey (7,000), Sacramento (6,200), Kern (3,500), and Ventura (3,500). This data proves homelessness is a statewide problem and no longer confined to just our larger cities. While UCLA has been able to identify the state and county numbers on homeless pupils, California school districts are struggling to.

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39^th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and San Fernando.

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CONTACT:
Judy Yee, Judy.Yee@asm.ca.gov, 916.319.2039