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Students, educators, public officials and the larger community advocated for LGBTQIA+ students, immigrant families and continuation of the U.S. Department of Education at a public demonstration in Livermore, March 4. (Photo courtesy of Joanne Morrison) 
LVJUSD Board of Education trustee Steven Drouin voiced the district’s support of a safe and welcoming learning environmental for all students at the rally, March 4. (Photo courtesy of Kristie Wang) 
LVJUSD Board of Education trustee Christiaan VandenHeuvel extended his personal support for undocumented students, English learners, LGBTQ+ students, those with special needs and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. (Photo courtesy of Kyoko Takayama)
A crowd of nearly 300 people rallied downtown Livermore last week to advocate for LGBTQIA+ students and immigrant families as well as the U.S. Department of Education amid recent threats of its dismantlement under the Trump administration.
Students, educators, city leaders and other community members waved signs with phrases like “Equality Hurt No One,” “Save our Democracy” and “Fight Ignorance, not Immigrants” during the March 4 demonstration at Livermorium Plaza.
Meanwhile speakers — including Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District trustees Steven Drouin and Christiaan VandenHeuvel as well as Livermore City Councilmember and former LVJUSD trustee Kristie Wang and Pleasanton Unified School District Trustee Charlie Jones — rose before the crowd in support of a safe and high-quality public education for every student.
The rally called “Speak Up for Students and Public Education” was organized by Livermore Advocates for Public Education, a community group that promotes and defends educational policies to benefit all students. Rally co-sponsor Livermore Indivisible, advocates for social justice, democratic values and equitable education policies.
“Education is a fundamental right, and we must take action to protect it,” Livermore Advocates for Public Education representative Joanne Morrison said in a statement. “We are gathered to demand that the U.S. Department of Education be preserved and that no federal policies be instituted that harm students — especially LGBTQIA+ students and those whose family members may be undocumented immigrants.”
The community support for the DOE, which aims to foster equal access to education and its overall excellence, was a response to President Donald Trump’s intention of shuttering the department.
“That department serves the underprivileged students and the most vulnerable students in our education system,” Morrison said.
More specifically, the DOE establishes policy, administers and monitors most federal funding for education, according to its website. Funding from the DOE is directed toward programs that benefit special education, low-income, unhoused, minority and English-language learner students, Wang explained. It also funds school nutrition programs and those for career and technical pathways.
The DOE also collects data on schools in the U.S. for reporting to Congress, educators and the general public; identifies and brings attention to major issues in education and enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal funds to ensure equal access to education for everyone.
“Despite the actions and attempts by this current administration to undermine and defund our schools, we are here to say public education matters,” VandenHeuvel said at the rally.
Wang, who immigrated to the U.S. as a young child who didn’t speak English, said she directly benefited from programs funded by the DOE.
Everyday, her school provided lunch through a nutrition program and an ESL class where she said she took refuge and learned how to speak English. Support from the DOE continued to affect her trajectory, as a federal grant allowed her the means to attend college, she said.
“My family could barely keep food on the table, honestly, and there was no money left over to save for college,” Wang said of the 10 years in the U.S. prior to attending college. “The only way I was able to go to college was a Pell Grant that paid almost my entire college education.”
Wang continued, “I was one of those kids — low-income, English-learner, first-gen college student — and I turned that education into a career in public service. I worked in nonprofits, I worked in the public sector to make everyone’s lives better.”
Drouin extended the LVJUSD board’s support of undocumented and LGBTQIA+ students, which approved a policy in February to protect all students regardless of immigration status, he explained. Drouin added, the district’s non-discrimination policy includes sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression to make sure LGBTQIA+ students are safe at school.
“Undocumented students are our kids,” Drouin said. “Regarding LGBTQIA+ students, especially transgender and nonbinary students, all kids are our kids.”
He added, “I know people are nervous, but I am confident in our district’s ability to maintain a safe and inclusive learning environment where all kids can thrive.”
Meanwhile at PUSD, Jones said there is an ongoing effort to pass a resolution declaring the district as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ students.
“It’s not enough to resist. We need to build more, push further and farther and hold our electeds accountable to the promises they made when they ran, that we back them for,” Jones said.
Opposition to the rally was minimal as only a few people driving trucks flying Trump flags circled the block and honked their horns in protest.
“A lot of people are feeling a great deal of despair with the things that are happening at the national level,” Morrison said.“ You can’t fix everything in Washington, but you can focus right here in our community and make a difference here and if you do that you realize you do have power.”
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