Stand for Children is committed to electing candidates who will fight for an equitable public education system that gives all students a chance to succeed. Here’s how our endorsement process works:
We invite candidates to participate in our endorsement process and complete a questionnaire based on our mission. Based on a candidate’s questionnaire responses and their voting record (this only applies to incumbents), some candidates may be invited in for a virtual interview with our Endorsement Committee. Our Endorsement Committee is made up of students, parents, educators, and community leaders. Candidates are evaluated based on their:
- Responses to our questionnaire
- Voting record on our key issues (if applicable)
- Interview responses (if applicable)
- Overall alignment with our priorities.
After considering all the relevant information, our Endorsement Committee makes an endorsement decision.
Here’s the criteria we consider for each candidate:
- Issue Alignment: The candidate shows a commitment equity and racial justice, to raising achievement for all students, increasing family and community involvement, improving school funding, and ensuring our schools have effective leaders and educators. If they are an incumbent, they have a strong track record on behalf of our issues and bills.
- Strong Personal Character: The candidate is strong on making systemic improvements to our education system, has a vision and makes clear commitments. The candidate values citizen engagement and welcomes meaningful participation by Stand for Children in the policy-making process. The candidate shows leadership, strives for consensus, but supports potentially unpopular policy changes if necessary to get results for children.
- Viability: The candidate has a clear and viable strategy for winning their race.
