As the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether to allow for the placement of a citizenship question on the 2020 census, the Jewish Center for Justice echoes the important and powerful words of our Board Member and Los Angeles Unified School District Vice President Nick Melvoin:
“The census is not only foundational to representative democracy, but also critical to our District’s future. The census count determines how much Title 1 funding we get for high-need schools and professional development, as well as how many representatives our communities will have fighting for them locally and nationally. That is why it’s imperative that everyone in our diverse community is counted – and that any attempts to undermine that count are vigorously challenged. I am proud that we joined a lawsuit fighting the Administration’s unnecessary decision to add a question about citizenship to the census and that we unanimously passed this resolution reaffirming a commitment that everyone in our community matters.”
Background on LAUSD involvement in lawsuit:
On May 25, 2018, the LAUSD Board approved the District’s request to intervene the State of California v. Ross case, as one of the plaintiffs, to avoid a census undercount of non-citizens, immigrants, and Latinos (of which California has a disproportionately high share of) that would be caused by adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The District presented declarations to provide evidence of the concrete harms if the citizenship question is included, such as:
- The effects of the undercount on receipt of federal funding—Titles I, II, and IV.
- The effects of the undercount in being able to establish a comprehensive program for the LAUSD community which has a large population of immigrant families and the impact of the inclusion of the citizenship question on the social and emotional well-being of families.
- The district’s experience in the 2001-02 and 2011-12 post census District redistricting show that the data derived from the 2020 decennial census and American Community Survey are integral to the commission’s map drawing, allowing members to see the community demographic shaping local communities of interest and ensuring compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act and California Voting Rights Act.
Join us in action on immigration here.