Senior Legislative Counsel, K12 Education

SENIOR LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL, K-12 EDUCATION – PUBLIC ADVOCATES INC.

Location: CA-Based – Sacramento preferred (Hybrid w/ Limited Travel)

Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Salary: $90,000-$120,000

Reports to: Deputy Managing Attorney

 

About Public Advocates

For more than 50 years Public Advocates (PA) has been on the frontlines of social justice movements in California. As a bold and highly regarded nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination, we pride ourselves on our ability to skillfully deploy a multi-pronged approach to create systemic change and make rights real. Using litigation and enforcement, policy advocacy, community partnership and communication strategies, PA achieves tangible legal and policy victories in education, housing and transit justice in ways that help build power with low-income communities of color. PA was recently ranked as one of the top two most effective legislative advocacy groups out of over 100 ranked by CalMatters. To learn more about Public Advocates, please visit publicadvocates.org.

 

Position Summary

The Senior Legislative Counsel will work with PA’s dedicated K-12 Education Equity Team, community partners, and statewide coalitions to collaboratively develop and implement the team’s statewide legislative, administrative and budget policy advocacy to advance a racially and economically just public education system. Working with the Managing Attorney, Deputy Managing Attorneys and K12 State Advocacy Team, the Senior Legislative Counsel will help lead legislative, budget and administrative advocacy and facilitate an influential statewide coalition of education justice advocates to support strong implementation of key equity reforms, such as the historic Local Control Funding Formula. Current work includes ensuring systemwide meaningful student and family engagement, equitable and adequate school funding, and transparent and accessible student data support strategies to advance equity for low-income BIPOC students and a racially just public education system overall. This position has traditionally been based in our Sacramento office but we are flexible for the right candidate who has demonstrated willingness and ability to travel to Sacramento two or more times a month, especially during the legislative session.

 

Responsibilities

Legislative, Administrative & Budget Policy Advocacy: 50%

• Analyze, monitor and advocate orally and in writing for and against budget, legislative and administrative policy proposals
• Develop and help lead equity-driven policy campaigns in partnership with the team and community
• Draft legislation and regulations, written analyses and advocacy letters and respond to technical requests for information from policy makers and our community partners
• Build and maintain strong relationships with state policy makers and staff
• Represent PA in relevant policy making interest group spaces and forums and help to plan and manage legislative briefings and meetings with partners and allies
• Help negotiate with state actors and evaluate enforcement opportunities where legal requirements are not being met

Community Partnership & Coalition Building: 20%

• Co-lead and facilitate alignment and action of statewide education justice coalition of diverse advocacy, research and grassroots organizations, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Equity Coalition
• Build and strengthen relationships across multiple community partners, campaigns and diverse coalitions with sometimes conflicting priorities
• Leverage legal and policy expertise to collaborate with the team and community partners in planning, strategizing and developing state policy campaigns
• Develop and deliver training and analysis on policy developments and processes to build capacity of community partners to engage in policy and rulemaking processes

Strategy, Project Management & Support for K12 State Advocacy Team Planning: 15%

• Based on understanding of policy and power landscape, assist Managing Attorney with directing and executing the arc of state-level advocacy, incorporating policy advocacy, community collaboration, strategic communication, oversight and legal enforcement
• Work with the Managing Attorney and education equity team members to direct development of policy, strategy and coalition relationships for complex, multi-year advocacy campaigns
• Support agenda development and planning for annual K12 state advocacy team retreats and bi-weekly state advocacy team meetings
• Supervise, in collaboration with other staff, legislative coordinator and possibly other junior staff on the team

Strategic Communication: 10%

• Work with ed team leadership, Director of Communications, and other staff to shape communication and advance narrative strategy in support of public education
• Develop and execute outreach and media strategies, including messaging, community education, social media and representing PA and coalitions to the press and public
• Amplify voices of students and communities of color in K-12 education policy, budget and regulatory reforms
• Draft blog posts, opinion pieces, action alerts, reports and journal articles
• Share best practices and lessons learned by representing PA at relevant public forums and conferences

Resource Development: 5%

• Support the Managing Attorney and Deputy Managing Attorneys to identify, develop and maintain funding opportunities and relationships.

 

Skills & Qualifications:

• 7+ years of relevant policy, administrative, legislative or campaign experience or equivalent legal or advocacy experience ideally working on social policy issues, at the federal, state or local level
• J.D. and California Bar Admission
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively about policy issues to diverse audiences
• Legal research and writing, statutory analysis, regulatory or litigation experience
• Social justice and racial equity lens; experience working with BIPOC communities and/or low-income communities; strong commitment to building community power
• Strategic thinking and political judgment, with capacity and interest to engage in a multi-pronged advocacy approach that connects state policy and local organizing
• Passion for public education with a growth mindset around becoming an expert in multiple aspects of the K-12 education landscape

Nice to Have Qualifications, Although Not Required:

• Familiarity with K-12 education legal or policy issues, including equitable school funding, data and accountability, support for emerging multilingual learner and BIPOC students
• Work with statewide coalitions, grassroots or community-based organizations, and understanding of base-building social justice movements
• Support for team operations and/or supervision of  junior legislative staff, interns or volunteers
• Support for fund development, including stewarding of grants, stewardship, or reporting on program grants
• Work in K-12 public schools

 

Qualities uplifted by all Public Advocates staff include integrity, high professional standards, commitment to progressive social change, racial and economic justice, and working successfully with diverse colleagues, clients and community partners. This includes active participation in promoting healthy workplace culture through our organizational diversity and inclusion initiative – an ongoing process of communication, trust-building and learning about our individual and organizational areas for growth. We strive to build a culture of cooperation and mutual support and value flexibility, resilience, optimism, curiosity and a sense of humor.

Compensation & Work Setting

The position is a full-time (37.5 hours/week), exempt position. The starting salary range for this role is $90,000-$120,000 and will be dependent on relevant experience and internal equity considerations.

Benefits include full health, dental and vision insurance for the employee and all eligible family members; generous vacation, 13 paid holidays, 2 floating holidays and additional paid time off between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day; $750 annual professional development budget; $1,000 wellness budget; 403(b) retirement plan; $75 monthly internet/cellular service stipend; paid parental leave; flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care; and paid sabbatical after 7 years. We will also provide a laptop and peripherals to set up your home office. Public Advocates now also offers a tax-advantaged Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which provides qualifying attorneys with up to $500/month to cover part or all of their eligible student loan principal and interest payments.

Public Advocates has adopted a flexible “hybrid” work model based on community COVID-19 levels in SF and Sacramento and requires staff to commute to the office 1-2 days a week, depending on those levels.  We have also adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy that requires all employees either establish that they have been fully vaccinated or obtain an approved exemption as an accommodation.

Application Instructions

Please submit the following 3 items combined into one document: 1) Cover letter responding to the question prompts below, 2) Resume and 3) Writing Sample Excerpt (no more than 5 pp.) that illustrates your legal or policy advocacy, analytical reasoning, and communication skills. In the file name and email subject header, please write the name of the position you are applying for and your last name: e.g. “Sr Leg Counsel_Ramirez.” We invite you to utilize your cover letter as an opportunity to discuss the following:

• Tell a story that illuminates your interest in PA’s mission and theory of change; and
• Share how your background and experience aligns to the key responsibilities of this position

Please email your application materials to k12advocate@publicadvocates.org by the Application Priority Deadline of Friday, August 16, 2024.

Additional questions about the role or interview process can be directed to Vanessa Ramirez, the Recruitment Consultant supporting this search, at vramirez@publicadvocates.org.

 

Public Advocates reflects the rich diversity of California. Sixty percent of our employees and two-thirds of our Board members are people of color. Four of seven members of our senior leadership team — including our President & CEO — are people of color, and three are women.

Public Advocates seeks to fill this position with someone who shares our values, including our organizational commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We encourage all interested individuals to apply — especially those who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color; women; people from low-income backgrounds; people with disabilities; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or anyone belonging to any other federal or state protected category. Read our Diversity Vision Statement here.

*Applicants requiring an accommodation to complete the application and/or interview process should send an email to spaik@publicadvocates.org for assistance.