Latino students now make up more than 50 percent of the population in California’s public schools. White students account for 27 percent; 9 percent are Asian and 7 percent are black. Another 7 percent of California students identify themselves as Filipino, Pacific Islander or Native American.
These statistics, as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle, were released by the state Department of Education.
The Latino population in California has grown significantly in the past few decades, but their influence on state politics remains relatively small. This is because almost 40 percent of adult Latinos in California are ineligible to vote.
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, an associate professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education, told the news source that the challenge is to find a way for Latino parents to get involved in their children’s schools. Many Latino parents realize that the schools their children attend are underfunded; however, they cannot vote for members of the local school board.