DOJ wants to join lawsuit against White students at California’s largest school – The Mercury News
The US Justice Department moved Wednesday to intervene in a federal lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District discriminates against White students in its decades-old system that is predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian or Other non-Anglo.
The policy provides certain schools with additional resources and gives certain students the opportunity to be admitted to magnets based on the demographics of neighboring races, depending on the case.
“Treating Americans equally is not a proposition — it’s a basic constitutional guarantee that educational institutions must follow,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement announcing the intervention. “This Department of Justice will never stop fighting to make that guarantee a reality, including for Los Angeles public school students.”
A spokesperson for LAUSD said Wednesday afternoon that because the matter is pending, the district cannot comment on these details. However, Los Angeles Unified “remains strongly committed to ensuring that all students receive appropriate support and enriching educational opportunities,” a spokesperson said.
The lawsuit, filed last month by the 1776 Project Foundation, argues that LAUSD’s designation of PHBAO amounts to unconstitutional racial discrimination. The conservative nonprofit argues that the policy hurts students based on the racial makeup of their schools.
In a statement filed in court Wednesday, the Justice Department said LAUSD operates a “race, color, and national-based system” that segregates schools like PHBAO where 70% or more of the student population fits the district’s definition of Hispanic, Black, Asian and other non-Anglo.
According to the report, PHBAO-designated schools receive additional staff that lowers the student-teacher ratio by approximately 5.5 students per teacher compared to non-PHBAO schools. They are also required to hold two parent-teacher conferences each year, and students in those destinations earn points in the district’s magnet school admissions program.
“LAUSD considers attending a non-White school to be as bad as attending an overcrowded school,” the Department of Justice said.
The filing also revealed that approximately 90% of LAUSD schools are currently considered PHBAO.
The Justice Department said it wanted to join the case early under the Civil Rights Act, which allows the attorney general to intervene in cases deemed “of great public importance.” If approved, the federal government would become a party to the lawsuit and could pursue the same relief as the plaintiffs, including a court order barring LAUSD from using race-based classifications in school funding or admissions.
The PHBAO program traces its roots to desegregation efforts adopted in the 1960s and 1970s to address racial segregation within the region. According to the LAUSD website, a school is classified as a PHBAO based on its “resident student population,” a figure that does not include students who attend with permits, open enrollment, special education placement or other transfers.
The case is pending in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
