FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2023

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Authorizes Additional Lawsuits Challenging Public Education Policies And Actions By Creating New Constitutional Right.
Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on January 3, 2023.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

AUTHORIZES ADDITIONAL LAWSUITS CHALLENGING PUBLIC EDUCATION POLICIES AND ACTIONS BY CREATING NEW CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Creates new constitutional right for all public school students in preschool through high school, including charter schools, to a “high-quality” education, the requirements of which will be defined by the courts. Allows lawsuits to enjoin or invalidate any law, regulation, policy, or action that allegedly violates this new right. Policies that do not “put the interests of students first,” which is not defined, are deemed to violate the new right. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Unknown litigation and court-related costs for the state and schools that would depend significantly on the number of lawsuits filed to challenge existing laws, regulations, policies, or official actions. (22-0007) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1941 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 22-0007.

The proponent of the measure, Emelyn Rodriguez, must collect signatures of 874,641 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than July 3, 2023. The address for the proponent is c/o Patricia Anne Reilly at Kids1stCalifornia@gmail.com and (916) 258-2025.

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