In preparation for the upcoming Primary Election on June 5, we are releasing a quick background of each of the Constitutional Officers and what they actually do in the California government.

Today, we are reviewing the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).

The SPI oversees the California Department of Education (CDE) and, by extension, all

With school shootings making headline news across the country, a rising movement across the United States is to arm teachers to protect students is making headlines. Not surprisingly, there are strong emotions both for and against allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools.

California law prohibits the possession of concealed firearms on

How to Start a Non-Profit

I sat down with McGeorge alum Aaron Brieno (’14) to talk about his new non-profit community based organization, Inspire California. Inspire California, to put it briefly, exists to help create and foster and college-ready and college going among high school aged students in the Central

SB 320: Expanding Abortion Access for College Students

A quick note, this interview was recorded on 1/26. In the intervening week between the recording of this podcast and this post going live, the California State Senate voted on and passed SB 320 by a vote of 25-13, with two Senators not voting.

Using Amicus Curiae Briefs to Influence Judicial Decisions

I sat down with Brian Landsberg – Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law – recently to talk about the work of an organization that he is a member of. That organization is the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights, of which, Professor Landsberg is

By: Dylan de Wit

California currently faces a major public education crisis. Similar to the housing crisis, California’s teacher supply has failed to meet demand, resulting in severe teacher shortages throughout the state. Seventy-five percent of school districts are understaffed, particularly with regard to fully-credentialed teachers. Compounding this problem is California’s affordable housing crisis. Housing

AB 1217 In Depth with Tristan Brown – Part 2

Today’s In Depth conversation picks up where we left off last week with Tristan Brown. As a refresher, you can refer back to Part 1 of our interview where we discussed the lay of the land for public education in California and about

AB 1217 In Depth with Tristan Brown Part 1

In today’s In Depth conversation, I talked with Tristan Brown – Legislative Advocate for the California Federation of Teachers – about AB 1217. Our conversation ran long, so today’s podcast is just the first part of our conversation. In this portion, we talked about

AB 10 In Depth with Erinn Ryberg

Welcome to California Lawmaking In Depth. In this series, we examine individual pieces of legislation with the people who were directly involved in crafting, supporting, or killing the bill. The conversations focus in on the process of passing – or killing – the

Welcome to Policy Change in Practice. In this series, we talk with the key people engaged in changing public policies at every level of government. Our conversations focus on how their organizations change policy, as well as their personal tips and insights into the most effective ways to make change.

Policy Change