Today, the California Latino Legislative Caucus and California Legislative Black Caucus issued the following joint statement regarding the disinformation campaign surrounding SCA 5:
"The California Latino Legislative Caucus and California Legislative Black Caucus jointly express our strong support of SCA 5 (Hernandez) despite its return to the house of origin for further consideration. We share a strong commitment to its passage and all measures that ensure equal opportunity for all Californians.
SCA 5 would enact seriously needed reforms that would roll back the ban on race as a consideration in weighing college admissions. This will bring fairness and balance to our educational system.
We understand the desire of leadership to have further discussions about this important issue and are committed to ensuring the success of the bicameral commission on issues surrounding recruitment, admissions, and retention. However, we must not ignore the fact that the major reason this measure has been delayed is due to a malicious disinformation campaign being waged by disingenuous ultra-conservative partisans intent on denying equal opportunity for all Californians.
We will not allow bad information to undermine good public policy. There is no question Proposition 209 has led to a tremendous and precipitous decline in the number of African-Americans, Latinos and other underrepresented communities in higher education. Our Caucuses are committed to putting this issue before the voters of California. We will continue to work through the process, but rest assured, we will not stop working until all Californians have equal access to higher education and a brighter future.”
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CONTACT:
(LARA) Jesse Melgar (916)651-4033
(MITCHELL) Charles Stewart (213)745-6656
