Our Advocacy
Our parent leaders don’t just show up to meetings; they help shape what happens in schools, from who gets hired to how policies are written.
Whether it’s pushing for fairer school governance in Boston, speaking up at City Hall or weighing in on statewide legislation, our leaders remind decision-makers that families are not just "stakeholders": we are partners.
Local Efforts
We work alongside parents to strengthen school site councils, influence hiring, and reform local school governance so families have a voice in their children’s education.
From Parent Advocate to Candidate: Noelia Chafoya
Shortly after completing our workshop series in 2024, Noelia Chafoya announced her candidacy for a seat on Worcester’s School Committee. Noelia drew on the knowledge and tools gained during the workshops to inform her campaign priorities and amplify her advocacy efforts. She used CPLAN’s publicly available informational videos about parent power and school committees to help educate families and voters. By leveraging these resources, Noelia ensured that constituents were well-informed about the importance of school committees and the critical role they play in shaping local education.
Championing Special Education: Perla Gillitlie
Perla Gillitlie, Chair of the Worcester SEPAC, attended CPLAN’s Powerful Parents workshop series and has strengthened family voices in special education by implementing new tools to increase participation at SEPAC meetings. She was active in working with CPLAN and ensuring families of students with special needs came to our workshop series. As Perla shares: “Learning about my son's diagnosis and how to support him really helped me name my emotions and learn about myself, too. The program provides guidance, clarifying some characteristics that we have lost in our busy routine.”
Parent Leadership at the Gilmore: Debbie Gabriel
After learning more about school site councils in one of our meetings, Debbie Gabriel approached Ivelisse about the lack of a council at her child’s school in Brockton. Together, they worked to create a School Site Council at Gilmore Elementary, while also empowering more parents to take active roles in their children’s education. Today, Debbie chairs the Parent Council at her child’s school, where she focuses on engaging more families and ensuring their voices are heard in decisions that impact their children’s education.
Creating Change at the Tobin: Santiago Rivera
As a parent of young children, CPLAN leader Santiago Rivera is passionate about improving the school system through immediate, tangible changes at the Tobin School in Boston. He has worked closely with the parent council to bring in resources like 3D printers, upgrade facilities, and revitalize spaces. Through initiatives like the Clean Water Access project, Santiago also empowers students to advocate for their needs and build lasting change in their school. At the end of the 2023 school year our Executive Director, Ivelisse Caraballo and CPLAN leader, Santiago Rivera, played crucial roles in collaborating with BPS to replace outdated water bubblers with modern filtration systems. Now, 50 schools are equipped with these stations, with plans to complete installation in remaining schools over the next few years. This effort was supported by MassDEP and the Sholomo Foundation.
Elect the Boston School Committee
CPLAN took part in the historic “Yes on 3” campaign in Boston by informing families and rallying voters to challenge the status- quo of having a Mayor-appointed School Committee since 1991. Our voices contributed to a powerful outcome: with a 79% “yes” vote, Boston reinstated an elected school committee, giving the broader community a direct say in how schools are governed and who represents them. Watch the campaign video below!
Statewide Impact
CPLAN parent leaders shape legislation and state policy on issues like literacy, immigrant rights, and graduation standards, making sure equity drives education across Massachusetts.
The Right to Read Act
CPLAN joined MEEP and MASS READS in supporting legislation to require districts to adopt and implement evidence-based reading instruction. The Massachusetts Right to Read Act addresses the literacy crisis by ensuring access to high-quality, consistent instruction, especially for students who have been historically underserved.
Affirming Equal Access to Public Education
In 2025, CPLAN worked with the Protect Education Equity Coalition to support “An Act Relative to Affirming and Maintaining Equal Access to Public Education for all Children- HB 650/SB 436" in effort to preserve key federal protections in education and ensure the right to public education for immigrant children without documents and children with disabilities. Without this bill, any rollback of federal law or guidance could negatively impact students’ rights in Massachusetts. The Protect Education Equity Bill was voted on in the House and approved nearly unanimously as part of the supplemental budget. Now the coalition is working on getting this to the Governor’s desk!
2025 Victory for Vocational Education Access
Worked alongside the Vocational Education Justice Coalition, a group of 20 community, union, and civil rights organizations, to reform the vocational admissions process in Massachusetts. In May 2025 the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) voted to require lottery-based admissions at all voc-tech schools when applications exceed available seats. This policy shift opens doors of opportunity for thousands of students who had been unfairly shut out and ensures vocational education fulfills its promise of advancing equity and economic mobility. For years, selective admissions criteria, such as grades, attendance, discipline records, recommendations, and interviews, kept many students out. While these measures appeared neutral, they disproportionately excluded Students of Color, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students, the very young people who could benefit most from hands-on training and direct career pathways. The coalition has advocated since 2019 for DESE and the State Board of Education to change the admission process to a lottery.
Informing 2024 Voters: MCAS Graduation Requirement
In October 2024, CPLAN helped families better understand the debate around Ballot Question 2, which asked whether Massachusetts should continue requiring the MCAS test for high school graduation. Our Executive Director, Ivelisse Caraballo, moderated a public panel sharing perspectives on both sides of the issue and later spoke with Boston.com about the concerns raised by parents. While CPLAN did not take a formal position, we highlighted the difference in opinions on the issue, lifting up parents’ worries about fairness and effectiveness, while also acknowledging the difficulty of removing the test without a clear replacement.
Free School Meals for all campaign
Collaborated with a coalition, led by Project Bread, to advocate to permanently include free school meals in the budget, ensuring students have access to nutritious food. As of the 2023-2024 school year, free school meals are available to ALL students- permanently!
The Opportunity Act
In 2019, CPLAN members stood alongside parents and advocates across the state to support an “Education Bill of Rights”: legislation championed by Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz that ultimately became the Student Opportunity Act of 2019. Our parent leaders testified at the State House, contacted legislators, and raised awareness to ensure the bill passed with students’ needs at the center. CPLAN also hosted a dialogue that brought together families from across sectors. Once it became law, we continued advocating to strengthen it, working to close loopholes in the language and ensure protections for low-income students, English learners, and students receiving special education services. We also pushed for provisions to expand healthcare support for educators, recognizing that strong schools depend on strong, healthy teachers. This historic legislation modernized Massachusetts’ school funding formula and directed billions in new resources to districts based on actual student needs, an important step toward equity in education, made stronger by the voices of families who refused to be left out.
National Impact
Through partnerships like UPLAN, we bring Massachusetts families’ voices to the national stage, advocating for immigrant rights, family engagement, and equity-centered education policies.
Bi- Annual Conference
As an active partner of the United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN), CPLAN participates in UPLAN’s national gatherings to ensure Massachusetts families are connected to the broader movement for education justice. At the 2024 UPLAN Conference, our team shared a breakout session called “Cultivating a Happy and Positive School Culture and Climate,” where we highlighted strategies parents and educators can use to build more supportive, inclusive learning environments. These bi-annual conferences give CPLAN parents and staff the chance to exchange ideas with leaders from across the country, learn new advocacy strategies, and bring home fresh tools to strengthen family leadership and student success in Massachusetts.
UPLAN Immigration Policy Committee
CPLAN’s Executive Director, Ivelisse Caraballo, serves on the Immigration Policy Committee of the United Parent Leadership Action Network (UPLAN), a national coalition of parent-led organizations working for education justice. Through this role, Ivelisse brings the voices of Massachusetts families into national conversations about immigrant rights and education. The committee advocates for policies that protect and expand opportunities for immigrant students and families, such as preserving access to public education, expanding eligibility for federal programs, and strengthening protections for DREAMers. Her leadership ensures that the lived experiences of parents in our communities help shape national policy priorities, reminding decision-makers that families are experts in identifying both barriers and solutions.
