Public School Funding
Debts are owed to the generations of young people of color and families whose promise of an equal education has gone unfulfilled. We must reimagine our education system as a powerful oasis that can contribute to the resolution of longstanding societal injustices.
California currently has the 5th-largest economy in the world, yet its insufficient commitment to funding public schools lands it in the bottom third of the nation.
Active Campaigns
Demand Letter to CA Governor, state officials, and state agencies regarding its inequitable school facility funding program
California’s system of funding school facility modernization projects through local and state bonds is based on district wealth. The result is an unequal system in which students in low-wealth districts receive an education inferior to that of their peers in higher-wealth districts in violation of California’s Equal Protection Clause.
Webinars and Resources: New Accountability Tools for Equity & School Transformation
Starting in 2024, California is implementing changes to the LCAP and introducing a new funding source to increase equity in schools.
School Funding Updates
School districts have received an influx of COVID relief funding from both the state and federal government to address and adapt to the pandemic. As we look toward the upcoming 2021 – 2022 school year and a return to in-person learning, school districts and local communities have a unique opportunity to use these funds to reimagine our schools.
Complaint against San Bernardino County Superintendent and Office of Education
We filed a precedent-setting complaint alleging that more than $300 million was misspent or unaccounted for in San Bernardino schools, and the California Department of Education agreed that the County violated the law in its oversight of San Bernardino school districts spending plans.
K-12 COVID Resources
We’ve put together a library of K-12 COVID tools. Topics include: Learning Continuity Plan Resources; Restorative Reopening of Schools, Pandemic Relief Funding; and Know Your Rights toolkits.
‘Our Right to Resources’
We have uncovered rampant and illegal misspending by school districts on law enforcement throughout Southern California. In a report released in March 2020, 56 districts were found to have illegally diverted money intended for English learners, foster youth, and low-income students towards police, security guards or other hardening measures such as surveillance equipment.
LAUSD fails to properly report on $2 billion intended for high need students
LAUSD gets more money to serve high-need students than any other district in CA. We filed a complaint in July 2019 charging the district with misreporting more than $2 billion intended for these students.
New Services for High-Need Students in Long Beach Unified School District
On May 11, 2018, parents and community groups announced a settlement with the Long Beach Unified School District to provide improved services for low-income students, English language learners, and foster youth. The district is now providing three new and improved supports to students and families in the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
Earlier Campaigns
Administrative Complaint Against the West Contra Costa Unified School District
On April 23, 2018, parents and students from the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) filed an administrative complaint and Public Records Act request contending that district officials are violating state law by refusing to release data on student outcomes that they need to evaluate the district’s spending plan.
California’s New School Accountability System
California is the first state in the country to measure school success using a wider range of information on student outcomes.
Campaign for Quality Education v. California
This lawsuit charges that California’s failure to adequately fund its schools so that every student has a reasonable opportunity to obtain a meaningful education that prepares them for college is a violation of their fundamental right to education under the California Constitution’s Education and Equal Protection Clauses.
Community Coalition of South Los Angeles and Reyna Frias v. Los Angeles Unified School District
This lawsuit charges that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is violating state law by refusing to use state education funds specifically targeted to help low-income students, English language learners and foster youth to increase or improve services for those students, subverting both the letter and spirit of the 2013 education finance reform law known as Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
Measuring Our Success to Keep Schools Accountable
There must be clear standards set for evaluating schools, school districts and education officials to make sure that our education goals are met.
- Advocating for measurement standards and rubrics pursuant to LCFF with CA State Board of Education
- Accountability at the county and district level : Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)
Passage of California’s School Finance Law: Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), adopted as part of his 2013-14 proposed budget, is a significant and historic shift toward a simpler, more rational and equitable school finance system.
Serrano v. Priest
Refers to three cases decided by the California Supreme Court: Serrano v. Priest, 5 Cal.3d 584 (1971) (Serrano I); Serrano v. Priest, 18 Cal.3d 728 (1976) (Serrano II); and Serrano v. Priest, 20 Cal.3d 25 (1977) (Serrano III).
#WeMakeLCFFWork
In February 2020, we launched the #WeMakeLCFFWork community education campaign to make sure families know their rights, are fully engaged in the LCAP process and that their voices are heard by school districts.
