ACTION ALERT: Make phone calls TODAY against AB 13!!!!

The Assembly Education Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, May 4^th about AB 13.  People all over the state have been writing letters and lobbying against this bill.  We really hope that it will fail in this committee and that will be the end of it (at least this year).  Last year, the bill passed this committee with only one NO vote (Ammiano), but this year, we have been much more organized and I really do think we can win this!

We are asking that people call members of the Committee on  Tuesday next week.  Below is a sample script.  Below that is a list of committee members.

To members of the Assembly Education Committee:

Hello, my name is ___________________ and I am calling from ___________________<name of organization>.  I am calling to urge Assembly Member _______________ to vote against AB 13, a bill that would bar people with drug felonies and those with serious and violent felonies from volunteering in California’s public schools.  This bill will be heard in Assembly Education on Wednesday, May 4^th.

The bill has a number of serious problems:

• There is no indication that a committed parent who wants to volunteer at their children’s school would be a bad volunteer.  This bill paints such a broad stroke that it will have a very bad impact on many schools, particularly those in neighborhoods which have been most seriously impacted by incarceration.  Please imagine the impact this bill would have on South Central Los Angeles <or Oakland, or wherever you want> where many people, primarily people of color, have been to prison.
• At a time when there have been so many cuts to education and to social services, school volunteers are playing an ever-more-important role in the schools.  Banning potential volunteers will have a very bad impact on those schools.
• Children who have a parent who has been to prison are already facing issues related to the loss of a parent and the stress of re-entry.  It is unconscionable to place an additional burden that highlights these children and discriminates against them.  This bill is not good for children!
• People who have been in prison and are able to reunite with their families afterward are most likely to succeed after prison.  This bill will not help that re-entry process.
• Any way that this bill will impact you personally (you can say this upfront or wait until the end, whatever works best for you).

Thanks so much for discussing this bill with me.

Members of the education committee:

Thanks everyone for taking this on!