Gloria Romero

Senator Gloria Romero is a product of public schools from kindergarten through completing her MA and PhD at UC Riverside. “My mother had a sixth grade education; I have a PhD,” said Senator Romero. “I understand the transformational power of education and the key it holds to accessing the American Dream.”

In 1995, Romero was the first Latina ever elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. She has represented East Los Angeles and the greater San Gabriel Valley for over ten years, as both an Assemblymember and Senator, and currently serves as Chair of the Education Committee, making her a leading voice in education policy. She has authored legislation seeking to restore accountability in our public schools, promote innovation, close the achievement gap and prepare students for the jobs of the future.

Senator Romero led California’s response to President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, co-authoring key laws to make California not only eligible, but competitive, for federal funds. The reforms give parents new rights, including creating a “Parent Trigger” that allows them to demand turnaround at their neighborhood schools if over 50 percent of parents sign a petition, as well as giving parents the right to enroll their child in another district if their children attends one of the 1,000 lowest-performing schools in the state.