ACA 7 Passes the California Legislature

Sep

2026

Achievement Gap, Racial Justice, School Climate

We are excited to share that ACA 7 (Jackson), also known as the Closing the Student Opportunity and Achievement Gap Act, has officially passed the California Legislature and is set to appear on the 2028 ballot!

Californians for Justice (CFJ) celebrates the passage of ACA 7, a legislative priority for us over the past two years, which our youth leaders selected for our yearly Youth-Powered Legislative Agendas.

What resonated with our youth leaders about this bill?

ACA 7 allowed students to make sense of what they could see in the data and in their own experiences - that racial disparities in academic outcomes and how student groups are served in their schools are structurally rooted. One of the deepest roots of this inequity is Prop 209’s ban on naming race in government decisions, including in public education.

It was clear to CFJ youth that a race-blind approach to education falls flat because they see its gaps day to day. Championing ACA 7 gave our organizers the agency to take direct action and build Black and Brown youth power.
During our Youth Power Capitol Day in 2025 and 2026, around 80 young people from across the state mobilized in Sacramento to uplift why this constitutional amendment is so critical. We cannot properly and equitably serve students if decision-makers are restricted from naming race as they design policies and initiatives for our K-12 education system.

Throughout our legislative advocacy, youth expressed their hope for what this change could mean for future Black and Brown students in their schools, often explicitly for youth.

This fight for race-conscious policymaking is core to CFJ. Our organization was created in 1996 as education equity and racial justice partners across the state fought against Proposition 209, which ultimately banned the use of identity markers such as race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in policymaking. Thirty years of data show why this change is urgent and necessary. For example, while the Local Control Funding Formula, enacted in 2013, was designed to establish an equitable funding model, its inability to account for race creates a missed opportunity to channel resources to the communities that need them most.

The History: Proposition 209, passed in 1996, banned affirmative action in government hiring, government contracts, and public education.

The Purpose of Affirmative Action: Affirmative action was intended to be a tool to remedy decades of historical and structural discrimination– acknowledging institutional harm and leveling the playing field for marginalized communities. The Consequence: Prior to the ban on affirmative action, identity markers like race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin could be named and considered in state and local government decisions. Prop 209 forced California into an era of colorblind policymaking that continues to result in deep, persisting racial disparities in public education.The lingering effects of colorblind policies in education:

Admissions rates for students of color went down soon after the passage of Prop 209 – Between 1995 and 1998, the number of Black, Latino, and Native American students dropped by 58% at UC Berkeley and by 53% at UCLA.
Graduation rates at K-12 reflect a racial gap – Black students have the lowest high school graduation rate in California, and at 15%, the dropout rate for Black students is almost double that of white students
Students of color lack adequate support & resources to succeed academically – Fewer than half of Latinx, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander kids in the state are reading at grade level.

The Road to 2028

It is now up to California voters in 2028 to choose to end this era of colorblindness in public education. Californians for Justice looks forward to centering and uplifting youth voices at the forefront of this campaign.

We want to thank Assemblymember Jackson and the California Legislative Black Caucus for championing this issue, and the incredible team at the Education Trust–West, with whom we have been in deep partnership on this effort and who championed coordination among 85 partners across the state.

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