FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 23, 2025

Media Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, 917.647.1952, [email protected]

Landmark Lawsuit Challenges California’s “Backwards” school Facilities System that Punishes Poor Districts

Eighty-five degrees, broken tiles, gopher holes and leaky classrooms pose unfair learning challenges  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2025

Media Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, [email protected], 917.647.1952

SAN FRANCISCO – Today Public Advocates, a civil rights law firm, and pro bono counsel Morrison Foerster, filed a landmark constitutional challenge on behalf of students, families, and educators against the State of California for operating a discriminatory school facility funding system that forces children in low-wealth districts to learn in buildings with toxic mold, leaky classrooms, failing HVAC systems and dangerous playgrounds while wealthy districts are funded to build state-of-the-art facilities.

“I’ve attended Coachella Valley Unified schools since kindergarten, and the truth is – the buildings where we learn do not reflect the talent, creativity, and potential of the students inside them. At CV High, we sit through classes in 85-degree trailers when the AC breaks, put out buckets when it rains, and recently lost access to our ceramics classroom when the sink flooded. Meanwhile, schools just miles away look like college campuses,” said plaintiff and high school senior, Miliani Rodriguez. “The California Constitution promises every student a safe and equitable education – and right now, that promise is being broken for thousands of students like me. We deserve classrooms that help us dream, not just survive the school day. That’s why I’m asking our state to invest in schools like mine, because where we learn should reflect what we’re capable of becoming as California’s future leaders.”

The lawsuit—which follows a February 2024 demand letter threatening litigation over inequities in the distribution of funds—challenges California’s School Facility Program, alleging it violates students’ fundamental right to a quality education under the California Constitution in how it funds major school renovations. The state requires districts to raise 40% of modernization costs locally before accessing state funding—a system that favors wealthy districts where it is easier to pass bonds and the bonds tend to be larger. This advantage is compounded by the state providing 60% of the costs of all approved projects, regardless of the wealth of the district. By being able to generate more local revenue, wealthier districts are able to gobble up more state matching funds and get in line for approvals sooner to boot. Rather than redressing local wealth disparities with state bond funds, the state’s provision of a 60% match to all comers replicates them.

“We cannot tell students to dream big while confining them to small, decaying spaces. The facilities in Lynwood schools do not match the quality of students, teachers, staff and administrators in our district nor do they foster their potential,” said Audrey Casas, plaintiff and an English and Journalism teacher at Lynwood High School.  “Our community has been redlined and split by two freeways, leaving us with a low-wealth district and school facilities in horrible condition. The state has not prioritized funding based on need. This is unfair and unconstitutional. A child’s education should never depend on their zip code.”

The constitutional challenge mirrors California’s landmark Serrano v. Priest case, also brought by Public Advocates, which struck down wealth-based discrimination in school operations funding 50 years ago. Just as Serrano established that it was unlawful to make “the quality of a child’s education a function of the wealth of his parents and neighbors,” today’s School Facility Program creates identical violations. 

“Fixing the School Facilities Program is not just about ensuring that all students have a safe and healthy environment to go to school,” said Jetaun Stevens, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Advocates.  “It is also about ensuring that students in low-wealth districts have the same educational opportunities–whether it be in the science lab, on the athletic field or the performing arts stage–as students in wealthier communities. The old and dilapidated facilities in low-wealth districts are literally robbing our children of their future. 

The disparities are stark and dangerous. In Del Norte County, students learn in dilapidated buildings and portables with lead-based paint, bathrooms lacking heat during extreme winter weather, and dangerous playgrounds and fields, while water leaks persist and modernization projects remain unfunded. In Lynwood, several facilities are over 100 years old; 60 classrooms reported leaks during a recent rainy season and many schools lack basic amenities like air conditioning and operational electrical outlets. In Coachella Valley, students sit in 85 degree “air-conditioned” classrooms, they catch rain falling through the ceiling with buckets, broken tiles pose a safety hazard but remain unaddressed, and rodents run overhead. In Parlier, located in California’s eighth poorest city, the district identified $90 million in facility needs but secured only $14 million in local bond funding.

“I have two children in Del Norte Unified, and the conditions they learn in are unacceptable,” said Amy Campbell-Blair, Organizing Director for plaintiff True North Organizing Network, an Indigenous-led advocacy organization working in Del Norte and Humboldt counties.  “At Bess Maxwell Elementary, built in 1956, paint peels to expose rust and 30-year-old portables serve as classrooms. Across the district, broken tiles create tripping hazards, gopher holes on fields cause student injuries, and the district can only afford to triage emergencies rather than make permanent fixes. In some cases, entering these school buildings feels more like stepping into a prison that feels dull, cold and unsafe. Don’t abandon our kids just because we’re poor, more isolated, and easier to forget. Our schools should be welcoming environments where students thrive.”

In addition to prohibiting wealth-based disparities, California’s Constitution guarantees education as a fundamental right and prohibits the state from operating a schools system that denies basic equality of educational opportunity to students in particular districts. Research shows that facility conditions directly impact student health, learning outcomes, and educational achievement, yet the state has maintained the current dual system despite clear evidence of its discriminatory operation.

“Since 2008, in study after study researchers have confirmed that wealthier districts receive more state bond funds than low-wealth ones and disproportionately benefit from the Program’s first-come, first-served application system,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney from Public Advocates. “This lawsuit should come as no surprise. What is a surprise is that the powers that be in Sacramento have maintained the status quo in the face of the overwhelming evidence of discrimination.” He added, “California has been a national leader in equitably funding school operating budgets, but not so with its capital finance system. This system, which gives more to those who have more, is an embarrassment to California values. It’s past time for a major equity overall.”

“The State’s school modernization funding formula leaves behind many of the schools that need these funds the most. Today’s complaint marks an important step toward fixing our schools. We look forward to an opportunity to try our case,” said Matt Stephens of Morrison Foerster.

The plaintiffs seek a court order requiring California to distribute facility funding in a manner that enables low-wealth districts an equal opportunity to modernize their facilities, including by adopting a sliding scale that provides more state funding to fiscally disadvantaged low-wealth districts and ending the first-come, first-served application process that also favors the wealthy. 

“Fall River Joint Unified School District is calling on the State of California to fix its broken school facilities funding system that leaves rural and low-income students behind. Students across the state still go to schools and sit in classrooms with asbestos, black mold, and aging infrastructure while wealthier districts enjoy modern, safe schools,” said  Fall River JUSD Superintendent Morgan Nugent.  “Our students are learning in the same classrooms their grandparents used — this isn’t just about buildings, it’s about dignity and fairness.”

ADDITIONAL QUOTES:

“Our school facility funding system is rigged against poor kids,” said Guillermo Mayer, President and CEO of Public Advocates. “Wealthy school districts pass bonds easily. Low wealth districts can’t, so they get significantly less state funding and are stuck with crumbling and toxic classrooms. This two-tiered system must end.”

“For decades San Bernardino City Unified School District has struggled to adequately prepare students in our city. Over the past 20 years four of my children experienced important improvements in academic preparation for our youth. But schools in our district are still severely under-resourced compared to wealthier cities,” said Tom Dolan, Executive Director of Plaintiff Inland Congregations United for Change. “Until the state makes important adjustments to funding for school infrastructure, communities like ours will languish in poverty and the State of California’s boasting about being the world’s 4th largest economy in the world will be scarred by its inequality, poverty, homelessness and incarceration.” 

“The contrasts are striking: wealthy districts have modern playgrounds and state-of-the-art tracks while low-wealth districts’ students play on fields riddled with holes, without basic shade structures,” said Alicia Viriani, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Advocates. “Students deserve safe facilities regardless of their zip code, but California’s funding system perpetuates these inequities. The state has a constitutional obligation to make it right and ensure every student has access to the quality learning environments they need to thrive.”

“We’ve waited too long. Our students deserve the best, because they deserve a quality and decent education,” said Coachella Valley parent and plaintiff, Sandra Ramirez, who will watch her fourth and final child graduate from the district this year. “We demand more investment in our schools. Now!”

“As a faith leader who has worked for justice in California for many years, I see a clear connection between inequity in public education and the other concerns that faith communities are continually addressing such as food scarcity, racial disparities in housing and health care, and the ongoing crisis of gun violence” said Pastor Jim Hopkins, Senior Minister Emeritus , Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland. 

“A child’s environment shapes how they learn and how they feel about themselves,” said Karissa Provenza, Staff Attorney at Public Advocates. “No student should have to sit in a classroom that is leaking, reeks of mold, or is unbearably hot. Yet, across California, too many students are getting the message: their education doesn’t matter. “

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About Public Advocates Inc.
Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.

About Morrison & Foerster LLP
Morrison Foerster (MoFo) is a leading global law firm with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 leaders across countless industries. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. We believe that an inclusive workplace is crucial to leveraging the talents of all people who work here and enhancing our ability to provide top-class legal services for our clients.