About Us
This campaign was started a year ago by youth leaders (from Oakland Kids First, All City Council Student Union and other OYV Coalition members), who spent months researching, engaging their school communities, and meeting with Councilmembers to enlist their support and develop the legislation. Thank you to Council President Kaplan for authoring the measure, and to Councilmembers Bas and Taylor for co-sponsoring it!
Oakland Youth Vote Coalition members include:
Oakland Kids First (Co-Chair), All City Council Student Union (Co-Chair), Justice for Oakland Students Coalition (J4OS), Californians for Justice, AYPAL: Building API Power, Oakland Youth Advisory Commission, Bay Area Community Resources, Power California, Youth Together, and Bay Peace.
Accomplishments
Youth leaders in Oakland have worked together for years to ensure OUSD policies and practices are informed by the experiences and diverse needs of all the students.
- Advocated for and won the creation of the Meaningful Student Engagement office and Board adopted OUSD Student Engagement Standards in 2007.
- Strengthened or created roles for students on decision-making bodies, such as School Board, School Site Councils, Culture and Climate committees, Principal and teacher hiring committees, and the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) LCAP Advisory Committee.
- Organized hundreds of students in campaigns to increase A-G college access for low-income youth of color, inform budget priorities, protect vital student services from being cut (like Free Supper and foster case managers), win Ethnic Studies, improve school culture and climate, support health and wellness initiatives, and increase school safety.
The next step in their work to build student power and improve educational outcomes – is to pass Oakland Youth Vote so every student has a VOICE! Please join us today!