LAUSD to deny parents inter-district permits to better schools
Well the rubber has finally hit road.
Despite all their posturing, Money does matter more than your child’s educational opportunities in the Los Angeles Unified School District and there is no more stunning example of that than the school board vote last month that quietly authorized the policy change behind our backs. They want their $9,500 back even when it means your child will be forced to enroll in one of the districts substandard schools.
Because the district is facing a $640 million shortfall, the LAUSD is gearing up to deny up to 80% of the transfer permits it currently extends to thousands of Los Angeles students who have sought better academic opportunities outside of the district.
Parents don’t make these herculean efforts to obtain transfer permits out of the LAUSD without a good reason. In Westchester/Playa del Rey for example the local high school here has failed meet the states AYP (Average yearly progress) for 10 years running.
In 1999 the school was already well below the 50th percentile earning a dismal “4″ in the states ranking system where 10 is best. Since then, Westchester High Schools ranking has dropped to a “1″ where it rests at the bottom 10% of the states schools.
For many parents, the districts announcement will likely result in their children being pulled from excellent public schools ranked in the top 30% in the state and dragged into schools ranked in the lower 40%.
While this may monetarily benefit the district it could have serious consequences for other districts and the state. Students enrolled in smaller surrounding districts cost the state roughly $8000 per student per year. If these students are denied permits by the LAUSD and forced to enroll in LAUSD schools, the cost to the state will go up by fifteen hundred dollars per student to $9500.
The boards vote also flies in the face of the goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which was enacted by congress to offer parents public school choice when their neighborhood school fails to meet academic expectations and annual yearly progress.
NCLB provides that if a school fails to meet academic milestones (AYP) the district must offer students another choice of school within the district. However, what happens if well over 50% of the districts high schools are on the states watch list because they are failing to meet AYP? And worse, what happens if the district itself is on the watch list as is the LAUSD? (Sounds like an opportunity for a NCLB federal lawsuit to me.)
NCLB also states that when a school does not meet academic milestones and is designated a “PI” or Program Improvement school, the district cannot offer students another PI school as an alternative. With over 50% of LAUSD of its high schools falling into the “Program Improvement” category, there are few if any LAUSD schools where students could go. Consequently parents seek out inter-district transfers. Suitably close hight schools near Westchester for example (Venice, Hamilton, University, Gardena) are all on the PI watch list.
The district believes that by denying families permits, it can steer $51 million that now goes to other local districts back to the LAUSD budget assuming all these students end up in LAUSD schools and not private schools or charters. However the State of California would stand to lose even more education dollars when these students are moved from less costly and more more academically proficient school districts that receive about $8000 into a very expensive low performing LAUSD school district that receives $9,500 per student.
Families wishing to enroll their children in other districts should continue to file for inter-district permits with the district. If they later receive a letter denying the permit they can file this appeal [form] to the Los Angeles County Department of Education.
I would also suggest that you call, write or fax your LAUSD board member and let them know how you feel about this policy. The board contact list can be found at http://laschoolboard.org/. Steve Zimmer is the school board member for most of the west side.
Hi, im a junior at the moment at Alhambra High School, and im on a permit from LAUSD. I think what they are doing is really stupid. Even if they force us back we are still going to appeal this. It is not right that they are forcing us to go to schools where we wont be able to get the type of education we deserve. It is not our fault that the schools are in the low percentile. Its the district for not doing anything for who knows how many years. Now we, the students have to suffer? I think that is really fucked up. We should have the right to choose where we go to school it is our education, our future.
I found out about this last Wednesday when I went to Westchester High to get a permit renewal form for my daughter, who is a freshman at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. I immediately contacted Steve Zimmer’s office and was told that there hadn’t been a vote by the school board, which we now know wasn’t exactly true. They voted to give Cortines the power to do this. At any rate, his office said he was not in favor of the decision, so perhaps there is hope in appealing to the board.
Since I learned of this, I have been on a mission to contact media, the school board, LAUSD and other parents to see if we can do something to change this policy. The Daily Breeze picked up the story, as did KPCC and various aggregate news sources. The Argonaut plans a story which should run this week. The city editor at the LA Times told me they had assigned the story to Carla Rivera, who covered the Beverly Hills school board story, yet four days later, it still hasn’t run. Why?
In the memo I received when trying to renew the permit, Cortines claims that LAUSD has made “great strides in improving educational options.” Well, not really, as you stated. Perhaps there are other options within the district, but with its attempt to sneak the new policy past parents, they have denied us the timeliness to apply for such options. The memo states that the student could apply “in the future,” implying that it is sound educational policy to have a child change school three times in three years.
That, I feel, is the most egregious part of all this. When were they planning to tell us: when our application was denied in May, June or July? The private, magnet and charter application deadlines have passed. I don’t think it was an accident that LAUSD planned to leave us with no option other than sending our kids to unsafe and/or underperforming schools. Do they think it’s good policy to yank a high schooler out of their school (their “life” as my daughter describes it), away from their current curriculum, their extra-curricular activities, their sports teams and their friends? How motivating would that be to a student?
We need to band together to fight. I have set up a “cause” on Facebook, if anyone is interested. http://apps.facebook.com/causes/459661?as_id=762757&as_type=Sharing&
There is a regular board meeting at 12p on 3/24/10. We should spread the word about it to interested parents and get as many of us there as possible. And,we should invite the media to be there too.
The other interesting part of this story is that the CA State Assembly recently passed a law allowing parents to take their students to ANY district they want — the law takes affect mid-April and I believe the move was made by Cortines in order to “get in under the wire” by the change in law.
But it seems to me that once the law takes effect, we should be able to force the district to comply with it. Any Lawyers out there who can help work on that?
Well, I was about to join the academic decathlon for my upcoming junior year, but thanks to the LAUSD, my hopes are crushed. Just another reason why Europe looks down at us.
Neil, please write to school board member Steve Zimmer and tell him your story:
steve.zimmer@lausd.net
or call: 213-241-6387
It will help if he hears from students like you.
John Sharp, I just checked the LAUSD.net website and the regular board meeting is 3-23-10 – REGULAR MEETING ORDER OF BUSINESS
333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room
1 p.m., Tuesday, March 23, 2010
check out the link below:
http://laschoolboard.org/node/690
I would love to see the media there along with as many parents as possible! Spread the word.
Lynda, I will write to him, thanks for the email address.
-Neil
Thiis is a question for Sarah Auerswald
You had mentioned that the CA State Assembly recently passed a law allowing parents to take their students to ANY district they want
Can you please post that law or email, so we can review and perhaps cite in our appeal?
thanks
The law only applies to districts that have agreed to become Districts of Choice. I’m not aware of the LAUSD having become a District of Choice with any other districts.
Its not fair, we just want whats best out there. I just think they should NOT do this.