West Contra Costa Unified, Parents and Students Settle Complaint Over Data
Release Required Under State Law
JULY 23, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO – Parents and students have reached an agreement with the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) to provide data on student performance and district spending that is required under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
The settlement agreement resolves an administrative complaint filed in April 2018 against WCCUSD by Public Advocates Inc. and pro bono counsel Mayer Brown LLP on behalf of complainants Wendy Lopez, and Reginaldo and Kateryn Ochoa.
The complaint against WCCUSD alleged that district officials were violating LCFF by failing to release data on student outcomes that community members needed to properly evaluate the district’s spending plan. The plan is intended to improve the services provided to all students, but particularly English learners, low-income and foster youth, also known as high-need students. This was the first-ever complaint filed by families to enforce their right to obtain such data under LCFF. The missing data are vital for there to be meaningful engagement between schools and community members.
“We need to know how safe students feel in their schools, what the rates are for English learners being classified as fluent speakers and what efforts schools are making to engage students,” said complainant Wendy Lopez, a parent member of the WCCUSD District LCAP Committee. She added, “Without data in our LCAP, parents and the community were unable to evaluate if the district was meeting its goals of improving our children’s education. Now, we can start to have meaningful conversations with the district on how to make things better for students.”
The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is a tool that helps districts track their progress towards achieving targeted outcomes. It also enables the continuous improvement process and fulfills districts’ legal obligation to be transparent about how they plan to spend funds targeting high-need students.
Public Advocates Senior Staff Attorney Hans Moore said, “This problem around data access has persisted and I commend Wendy, Reginaldo and Kateryn for having the courage to stand up for the 31,000 students in the district who will be helped through their efforts. Without their determination, we would not have reached this agreement today.” Moore added, “I also commend the District Superintendent and district staff for their prompt response to the complaint and their collaboration to address this significant flaw in their LCAP.”
Among other things, the settlement calls for the district to report available data in its draft LCAP so that the community and board can consider it during the LCAP approval process. The settlement also calls for all remaining LCAP data for the prior school year to be reported by November of each year.
Complainant Kateryn Ochoa, an eleventh-grade student and an active member of the District LCAP Committee, said “The LCAP is a huge part of the community’s ability to have a voice. I want more students to know that they matter and that they can have an impact on their education.”
Donald Falk of Mayer Brown LLP added, “I’m pleased that we were able to come to a quick agreement with the WCCUSD. Now comes the hard work of implementing these changes correctly.”
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 signed settlement, click here.
CONTACT:
Duc Luu, Communications Manager, Public Advocates; 857-373-9118; dluu@publicadvocates.org
John D. Tuerck, Director of Public Relations, Mayer Brown LLP; 312-701-8280; jtuerck@mayerbrown.com
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