RYSE youth leaders made their mark on May 19th, 2025 at the California State Capitol, participating in the impactful Quest for Democracy (Q4D) Annual Lobby Day. This annual event brought together hundreds of people for a collective opportunity to build solidarity, engage in democracy, and show our collective power! Q4D is a platform to build and lead the movement to release incarcerated people, restore human and civil rights, reunify families and communities, and provide relief to families and those on the inside.
RYSE youth advocates engaged in legislative lobby visits to several Assemblymember and Senator’s offices. This year, we prioritized our efforts on some of the following crucial bills, including AB461, which decriminalizes families in poverty who experience their children struggling with school attendance and SB824, the Supporting Healthy, Individually Focused Transition Act, also known as the SHIFT act, which strengthens youth’s Individual Rehabilitation Plan (IRP) who are in Secure Youth Treatment Facilities (SYTF).
Other bills RYSE advocates brought forward were:
AB1279 – Pathways to Justice: This bill aims to ensure that a past juvenile adjudication or conviction for an offense committed when a young person was under the age of 18 is not used as a "strike" to increase an adult sentence.
““AB 1279 matters to me because it offers people like us a real second chance. It recognizes that we were just kids when those decisions were made, and that those decisions shouldn’t define the rest of our lives.”
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AB 1376 – End Endless Probation: This legislation seeks to support youth development and long-term success by making probation fair, focused, and time-bound. It ensures That young people supervised in the community aren’t stuck in the system longer than needed and that probation conditions match their age, needs, and strengths.
““This bill is important to me because I have seen first hand the effects this has on the youth. I had a friend who was on probation for longer than 6 months, they constantly had check-ins and it was hard for them to be with people and even work or go to school. If this bill was passed it would benefit the youth by giving them a better chance of improvement and bettering their lives, it will also benefit the cost.”
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RYSE’s participation in Quest for Democracy highlights the power of youth voices in shaping policy and driving social change. Youth leaders demonstrated their dedication to creating a more equitable and just society. Their presence was a powerful reminder that the future of democracy rests on the active engagement of young people.
Check out our Instagram Reel Recap of Q4D!
Check out our partner organizations All Of Us Or None and Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ)
