LAUSD isn't properly keeping track of $1 billion for high-needs students, complaint alleges
The Los Angeles Unified School District is not giving the public enough information about how schools use more than $1 billion a year in state funding meant for high-needs students, according to a complaint filed Thursday with the California Department of Education.
These dollars are part of a funding formula that California implemented during Gov. Jerry Brown’s tenure. Districts receive extra money for each student who is low-income, an English learner or a foster youth. L.A. Unified is the state’s largest school district by far and most students fall into one of the three categories. The funding accounts for about 15% of the district’s annual budget, and the community is supposed to be involved in how the money is spent.
“You’re not having a meaningful conversation with the community because what you’re putting out is such crap, the community doesn’t know what’s in your plan,” said John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates, one of the law firms who filed the complaint on behalf of two L.A. Unified parents. “They don’t know how much you’re spending on particular items.”
The state requires school districts to identify how much is spent and how the extra money is being used. Districts must also establish goals and measure the progress of programs — such as after-school resources or counselors, the complaint says.
But L.A. Unified packages many unrelated items together, making it difficult to determine the impact of its spending, or for parents to know where money is going, Affeldt said.
In the 2019-2020 budget, for example, one area alone — school autonomy — accounts for CONTINUE READING: LAUSD isn't properly keeping track of $1 billion for high-needs students, complaint alleges - Los Angeles Times
