AAUW California Public Policy Committee Announces School Board Symposium

By Kathi Harper, Chair AAUW Public Policy School Board Project

In The Once and Future King, T.H. White wrote: “[Y]ou may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn… That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you.”

 In 1881, a small group of female college graduates banded together in what would become AAUW to encourage more women to pursue higher education.  

Almost 100 years later, Congress added Title IX to the U.S. Education Codes in 1972, prohibiting discrimination in educational opportunities on the basis of sex; and again when they established the U.S. Department of Education on May 4, 1980, with a mission to strengthen the Federal commitment to assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.

Now, 55 years later, it does indeed seem the world is being “devastated by lunatics.” In 2016 Title IX protections against sexual harassment were eviscerated in the first Trump administration. In 2022, Florida passed the Stop WOKE Act restricting classroom discussions of race, gender and sexual orientation, which spawned the “Moms for Liberty” movement, whose goal is to install school board members across the United States whose values include banning books, censoring curriculum and enacting policies harmful to our LGBTQ+ students.  

And it gets worse. In his inaugural address in January 2025, the President declared “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” In February he made all federal funding contingent on eliminating race-based considerations from all policy “partnerships.” And in late November of 2025, the Trump administration took a major new step to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED). After deep staff cuts, ED announced six “partnerships” that shift the day-to-day work of key education programs to other federal agencies.

Is your hair on fire yet?!  I know ours (AAUW California Public Policy Committee) is. That’s why the School Board Project is more important, more relevant, and more urgent than ever.  We are doing everything we can to empower you, our members, to make a difference at the grass roots level to fight to save the value of learning in your local school districts, by speaking up for our values at school board meetings and supporting school board candidates who share those values.  If you’re ready to fight back, please join us for a half day of our own learning, from 9 a.m to noon on Saturday,  Jan. 31 for “AAUW School Board Project: Defending the Frontline of Democracy.”  

In just 3 1/2 short hours you will learn:

• How the federal government’s restrictive laws impact California’s protective laws
• How to effectively advocate for AAUW values with your local school board members
• Why advocating on behalf of LGBTQ+ students is a crucial AAUW priority
• How to support progressive school board members in conservative districts
• How to respond to parents’ concerns with accurate information
• How to form and sustain valuable coalitions in your district with like-minded organizations 
• How to identify, recruit and support school board candidates whose values reflect AAUW California’s Public Policy Priorities

Don’t just be on fire, be fired-up!  Join us for a day of learning, by registering HERE.