Judge Rules ACLU May Expand Schools Lawsuit

A San Francisco judge has ruled that a lawsuit demanding better conditions for poor and minority students in a few schools can be broadened to include all children in substandard California public schools.

Superior Court Judge Peter J. Busch granted the request of the plaintiffs in the civil-rights lawsuit to form a class that could include hundreds of thousands of students, said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

“The court’s decision confirms that this is a case of statewide dimensions requiring statewide solutions,” Rosenbaum said.

Any relief granted would apply to every school in the state, Rosenbaum said.

The lawsuit was filed in May 2000 on behalf of students in 18 schools. It names state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, the state Department of Education and the State Board of Education.

It alleges that the state denies tens of thousands of minority students an equal educational opportunity by allowing them to attend schools that lack textbooks, trained teachers and clean, modern facilities.

By letting some schools provide these basic necessities while others do not, the suit alleges, the state is violating requirements of the California Constitution that guarantee all students a free and equal public education.

The plaintiffs are seeking an order requiring the state Department of Education to set up a system to identify and correct deficiencies.

Gov. Gray Davis has been criticized for mounting a vigorous defense against the suit instead of negotiating on how to improve conditions in the worst schools. The state has hired the Los Angeles law firm of O’Melveny & Myers to defend the case.

Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Davis has directed extra resources to low-performing schools and set up a system that makes them accountable for improvements.

“There is more public light shed on the schools that are low-performing,” McLean said. “That pushes things at the local level to improve.”

The state contends that the conditions in public schools are primarily the responsibility of local school districts. In response to the lawsuit, it sued 18 districts demanding that they correct the problems if the ACLU proves they exist.

School districts in Los Angeles, Lynwood, Long Beach, Inglewood, Alhambra and Montebello were among those named in the suit.

Busch’s ruling this week was the state’s second major setback in the case. In November, he denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.