Eliezer Williams, 6th grade student at San Francisco’s Luther Burbank Middle School, one of 100 students who joined the suit from around the state. Williams v. California Plaintiffs, a class action lawsuit, challenged California’s failure to provide basic necessities to all public school students — textbooks, well-trained teachers, and decent school facilities. Public Advocates, along with co-lead counsel, the ACLU and Morrison and Forrester, reached a settlement on August 13, 2004, which won increased state and school district accountability for providing these fundamental school resources, and nearly $1 billion in funding to help lowest performing schools remedy underlying resource disparities. The settlement also gave students, teachers, parents and community groups the right to file a complaint when students are denied access to basic resources.