Civil Rights Advocates Sue LA Schools Over Diversion Of Funds For High Needs Students To Special Education

On July 1, 2015, a group of civil rights advocates sued the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for diverting funding intended to create or improve programs for low-income high-need students, English language learners (ELL), and students in foster care to fund its existing special education programs. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Community Coalition Of South Los Angeles And Reyna Frias, Petitioners/Plaintiffs, v. Los Angeles Unified School District, allege that the LAUSD used improper accounting practices that “subvert both the letter and spirit of the 2013 education finance reform law known as the Local Control Funding Formula . . .