Assemblywoman Fiona Ma: Keep JROTC in Our Schools

Assembly Bill 223: All they are asking for is a choice Ê
The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) has been in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) for more than 90 years and has made a difference in the lives of many. It has provided a safe environment for students, teaching them leadership skills and discipline necessary for future success not just as students, but also as future parents and community leaders. Ê

The program is inclusive and supportive of all students, including openly gay, bisexual and transgender participants and cadet staff. The program does not allow for military recruitment in our schools. What I have seen is the great camaraderie amongst the students, teachers, parents and administrators. What I have seen is the great diversity of the cadets, 90 percent of whom come from minority communities and 88 percent of whom are women. What I have seen is that more than 90 percent of JROTC participants go on to pursue higher education, while less than 3 percent join the armed forces.

Those are hard numbers that, as a certified public accountant (CPA), I cannot ignore.

Allowing JROTC as an option for students to achieve physical education credit just makes sense. ÊLike many of you, I feel like we have been discussing JROTC for years. The issue has been in front of the San Francisco School Board, yet often in San Francisco the voters are asked to make a final decision on various issues of significance to our community.Ê

When the voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition V this past November, with 55 percent of the vote, I had the utmost confidence that the School Board would follow suit by reinstating this clearly popular program as an option in our schools. If the program is not restored by June, we cannot be certain that funding will ever return. ÊWith a lack of action from the School Board since November, and the June deadline quickly approaching, I felt the need to act.

Two weeks ago. I proposed Assembly Bill 223, which would require the SF School Board to provide JROTC as an option that meets the physical education graduation requirement. ÊSome will criticize my legislation as circumventing local control, yet I disagree. As elected officials, it can be easy to forget that we work for the voters. My bosses are the people of the 12th Assembly District, many of whom are parents and homeowners that strongly support this program.

In November, I believe the people of San Francisco spoke loudly, and it is my responsibility as a public servant to protect the program that they so clearly supported. Ê

National Agriculture Day
California is the bread - and fruit, veggie, cheese and nut - basket for the nation. Ê

With a new legislative session comes new committee assignments and this year I will serve as a member of the Agriculture Committee. March 20 is National Agriculture Day, a day set aside to honor the men and women of agriculture and to help promote a better understanding of America's agriculture industry.

More than 350 food items are produced in California, feeding countless millions throughout the United States and the world From only three percent of the nation's farmland, California agriculture supplies more than half of America's total supply of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Ê

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma serves in the California Assembly.