Senator Robert Jackson has taken on difficult fights on behalf of New Yorkers and never backed down: in his first elected position as School Board President where he launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equity school funding lawsuit, walked 150 miles to Albany to highlight the cause, and won a court judgment that awarded $16 billion for NYC public schools; in his 12 years on the City Council where he sponsored the Small Business Jobs Survival Act and fought for justice and equality; and now as a State Senator championing public education, workers rights, climate justice, gun safety, and more.

As a Community School Board President, Robert Jackson filed a lawsuit against New York State to fix an inequitable school funding distribution formula that was cheating schools and undermining our children’s future.

As a result of this landmark decision and “for being a staunch advocate for generations of New York City children, for never giving up on the belief that education is a basic civil right, and for giving millions of city students a fighting chance,” NY1 honored Robert as “New Yorker of the Year”.

On the City Council, Robert worked to make sure every child got the best education we have to offer by helping to create more than 4,000 new openings for pre-K, fought to prevent thousands of teacher layoffs, and helped start the Drop-Out Prevention Initiative.

He attended New York City public schools and graduated from State University of New York at New Paltz.