(Santa Ana) In an unexpected turn of events, California State Assembly Speaker John H. Perez announced today that he will hold off on moving forward with Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5). Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who opposed this legislation, welcomed the news but vowed to continue monitoring the bill.
"I am pleased that SCA 5 has been tabled because it was a divisive piece of legislation that would have significantly affected the residents of Orange County," said Supervisor Nguyen. "However, there's a chance it could still move forward so I will continue to watch it."
SCA 5 would have repealed portions of Proposition 209, which was passed by the voters in 1996 and removed preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public education. Given the widespread impact that this legislation would have on the residents of Orange County, Supervisor Nguyen authored an opinion piece opposing it and has asked that it be included on the Board of Supervisors' agenda for the County to take an official oppose position.
"Although SCA 5 will not move forward at this time, it has highlighted deficiencies in the K-12 education system that need to be addressed," said Supervisor Nguyen. "I think we still need to talk about how we proactively enhance the K-12 education system to make sure that we successfully increase the chances of those who wish to pursue their dreams of attending higher education."
According to Speaker John Perez, SCA 5 was sent back to the State Senate without taking action in the State Assembly at the request of SCA 5 author, Senator Ed Hernandez.
