November 5, 2015
A lawsuit settlement confirms what attorneys have said for over a year: many students across California have missed days, weeks, or months of learning time, because they were sitting in courses without academic content or merely let out of school early.
The settlement requires the state Department of Education to update online reporting systems. The settlement also requires that the state provide technical help to troubled districts as they work to get rid of these “sham” courses. It creates a process for the state to investigate a school where a student is assigned to a troublesome course this spring. The settlement, which becomes final when approved by a superior court judge, also states that the education department will pay $400,000 in legal fees to the plaintiffs.
The case was litigated by Public Counsel, the ACLU of Southern California, and others; it was filed in May 2014.
Organizations mentioned/involved: Public Counsel