Good news today from Pacific Legal Foundation & Ward Connerly:
“In a legal settlement responding to a Proposition 209 lawsuit by Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has rescinded its policy of race-based discrimination in teacher assignment.”
You can read the whole PLF release here.
Fourteen years after voter approval, Prop. 209 continues to win fight after fight. It is because the initiative was well written and clearly thought out, from a legal perspective. And then it was vetted by some of the sharpest legal minds in the nation (Eugune Volokh, Gail Heriot, Clint Bolick, Manny Klausner and more). Throughout our campaign (before and after the election), we had the visionary leadership of Ward Connerly, who framed the issue as it deserved: a struggle between those dedicated to creating a true colorblind society and those dedicated to keeping the lines drawn between people based on race, ethnicity and gender.
And then, despite the name-calling from the opposition, we had the support of Californians from all walks of life. We regularly heard from people who were in "mixed" marriages or parenting children of mixed racial or ethnical background who were sick of being asked to check the box (often forcing children to feel as if they were choosing between parents).
That November 1996 election, Californians voted for Bill Clinton and legalized medical marijuana. At the same time, the voters approved a simple 298-word constitutional amendment that demands the government treat its citizens equally, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity.
PLF and Ward’s American Civil Rights Institute (of which I am proud to say that I was a founding employee) deserve a BIG round of applause today. And a donation. These victories are not free. Both organizations deserve our support to continue their efforts to hold our government’s feet to the fire.