Leticia Quezada

Leticia Quezada (born July 12, 1953) is a Mexican-American politician and educator. She was the first Latina member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board, later becoming President of the Board of Education, and is known for her advocacy of bilingual education and non-citizen voting.

Early life and career Quezada was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, She struggled in a school district that did not make a strong effort to help her transition from a solely Spanish-speaking school into an English-speaking one.

Quezada pursued her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with honors,

Before joining the school board she worked for the Chicana Service Action Center in Los Angeles and as a community relations manager for the Carnation Company.

School Board service In 1985, the trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District appointed Quezada to its board, after another member resigned to become City Controller. when she secured a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board, becoming its first Latina.

As a LAUSD board member, Quezada pushed for an improved bilingual education program, increased parent control in local education, During her time on the board, Quezada opposed lowering academic standards for student athletes and served as a strong advocate for Latinos and immigrants in lower socioeconomic classes. As president, she recruited teachers from Mexico to make up for a shortage of bilingual teachers. She led the board through some of its most chaotic years, which included a battle against state school vouchers (Proposition 174), teacher strikes, attempts to break up the district, and $700 million in damage to district facilities caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Two years after her election to president, Quezada announced that she would step down from the school board. Her departure coincided with the passage of Proposition 187, which forced public schools to bar undocumented children.

Later work In 1992, Quezada ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, for California's 30th congressional district, but she lost in the primary to Xavier Becerra. Her campaign had been hurt by losing the support of United Teachers Los Angeles, the local teachers union which was unhappy with her over a contract dispute.