Community Coalition of South Los Angeles and Reyna Frias v. LAUSD
On September 14, 2017, Public Advocates announced the settlement of Community Coalition v. LAUSD. Under the terms of the agreement, $150 million will be distributed among fifty schools in Los Angeles over the next three years for new or improved services to low-income students, English language learners and foster youth. This victory is an important step as Public Advocates fights to uphold the promise of California’s groundbreaking 2013 education finance reform law, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
- Click here for a quick overview of the settlement decision
- You can check out coverage of the settlement from the Los Angeles Times
- Press release announcing $150 million settlement with LAUSD, September 14, 2017
Take Action to Ensure LAUSD Spends The Settlement Money to Support High Need Students
A toolkit has been created to empower families and students to engage with school districts on how settlement funds are being spent at their school. Click here to access the toolkit.
Background on the case
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is violating state law by refusing to use state education funds specifically targeted to help low-income students, English language learners and foster youth to increase or improve services for those students, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Community Coalition of South Los Angeles and LAUSD parent Reyna Frias.
The suit, filed on July 1, 2015 in Los Angeles Superior Court, asserts that the district has used improper accounting practices that subvert both the letter and spirit of the 2013 education finance reform law known as Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). If the district proceeds with its current plan, high need students stand to lose more than $2 billion in funding over the next decade. The plaintiffs are represented by Public Advocates Inc., the ACLU of Southern California and Covington & Burling LLP.
Additional Resources
