ALBANY, N.Y. (November 7, 2018) — In response to the results of last night’s New York State election, public education advocacy group the Alliance for Quality Education released the following statement:

“Last night grassroots campaigns nationally won historic victories for the representation of women, for Black and Brown communities, LGBTQ people and Muslims,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director of the Alliance for Quality Education. “In New York, we celebrate our first Black woman Attorney General Letitia James, and our first Black woman leading the State Senate, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. For the first time in nearly a decade, New Yorkers will have the true-blue representation of the Democratic State Senate that they elected.

“We look forward to working with a State Senate led by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins that will champion the needs of our students and ensure their right to a sound, basic education. The Assembly and Speaker Carl Heastie have long led the way on educational equity. Now the State Senate and Assembly can together lead the fight to dismantle educational racism, through school discipline reforms, culturally responsive education, and at last making equitable school funding a reality, fulfilling the promise of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity for our students.”

Among the many progressive Democrats to win election to the Senate last night is Robert Jackson, who was the lead plaintiff in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. “Robert Jackson will bring his tireless advocacy for school funding to Albany, and he will find strong allies in both houses of the legislature. In 2019, with the Republican Senate out of the way, we will see the issue of fair and adequate school funding be centerstage in the state budget decisions.”