July 19, 2024—Richmond Confidential reporter spoke with Law Fellow Karissa Provenza about the lawsuit PA filed with co counsel Munger, Tolles & Olsen against West Contra Costa Unified School District today for failing to address poor building conditions, teacher vacancies, and violating the rights of students, particularly Black, low-income, and multilingual learners. This lawsuit, which came after more than four dozen Williams complaints were filed with little to no action, is the first time a school district has been sued after the landmark Williams v. California settlement in 2004, which established the complaint process, the right to textbooks, clean, safe schools, and qualified teachers for all California public school students.
“We are seeing districts try to dodge these responsibilities. It’s very glaring in West Contra Costa, and that’s why we think at this point, after all of the many steps that we have taken with the district, this was the next step, to get the courts involved here,” she said. “We’re essentially seeking a court order to require the district to follow their responsibilities as statutorily required through the Williams complaint process,” Karissa Provenza, a law fellow at Public Advocates, said in an interview Friday.
