April 23, 2018
Families File Complaint to Compel School District to Release Data Needed for Review of Spending Plan
SAN FRANCISCO – Parents and students from the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) filed an administrative complaint and Public Records Act request contending that district officials are violating state law by refusing to release data on student outcomes that they need to evaluate the district’s spending plan. In the complaint filed today by Public Advocates Inc. and Mayer Brown LLP, the affected families claim that the district’s failure to report 2016-17 data on outcomes despite repeated requests over the last year is a violation of legal requirements under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the state’s new school funding and accountability law. This is the first-ever complaint by families to enforce their right to obtain such data, which are vital for meaningful engagement in the continuous improvement process contemplated by California’s new system of local control and accountability.
“It’s just wrong for the district to withhold this information from parents who are eager to be involved in our kids’ education,” said complainant Wendy Lopez, a parent member of the WCCUSD District LCAP Committee. “I hope that this complaint finally pushes them to do what is right,” she said.
The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) required by LCFF, is a tool that helps districts track progress towards achieving targeted outcomes and fulfills their legal obligation to be transparent with local communities about how they plan to spend funds targeting low-income students, English language learners and foster youth. The LCAP also helps parents evaluate how the district is doing and what should be done to increase or improve services for high-need students. Among the data most important to complainants—and not available from any other source–are students’ sense of safety and connectedness, district efforts to engage parents, Advanced Placement exam pass rates and Preliminary SAT results.
Public Advocates Senior Staff Attorney Hans Moore said, “It’s shocking that the district hasn’t complied with repeated requests for the data. Without this information it’s impossible for anyone to evaluate the district’s performance – including district officials themselves.”
Complainant Kateryn Ochoa, an eleventh-grade student and an active member of the District LCAP Committee, says she wants school climate and student engagement data to inform the District’s actions as they align to state priorities. Kateryn asked, “How can we participate in local decision-making if we don’t have data about how students are doing and feeling?”
Donald Falk of Mayer Brown LLP said that WCCUSD now has 60 days to respond to the complaint. “We’re hopeful that they will move quickly to resolve this matter,” he added, “because it deeply affects the learning environment and services provided to more than 31,000 students.”
Along with the parents’ and students’ complaint, Public Advocates Inc. and Mayer Brown LLP today filed a separate complaint against the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) for approving the district’s flawed LCAP in the first place. Because the LCAP ignored state requirements and omitted such massive amounts of information, the County violated its duty to ensure adherence to LCAP parameters.
“This is not the first time the Contra Costa county office has approved an obviously flawed LCAP plan,” said Public Advocates Senior Staff Attorney Rigel S. Massaro, referencing an earlier successful 2016 complaint against WCCUSD. “The complainants are calling for the County to order WCCUSD to disclose the missing data in an amended LCAP and to monitor all of its districts more closely moving forward,” she added.
For a copy of the administrative complaint against WCCUSD, click here.
For a copy of the California Public Records Act request, click here.
For a copy of the administrative complaint against Contra Costa County Office of Education, click here.
Contact:
Duc Luu, Communications Manager, Public Advocates; 857-373-9118; dluu@publicadvocates.org
John D. Tuerck, Director of Public Relations, Mayer Brown; 312-701-8280; jtuerck@mayerbrown.com
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