As Los Angeles Unified School District considers cost-saving measures to address fiscal challenges, coalitions including students and parents Friday urged the Board of Education to protect equity initiatives at risk of being cut or significantly reduced.
Students and parents alongside members of the Police-Free LAUSD Coalition and the Equity Alliance for LA’s Kids want to save the district’s Black Student Achievement Plan and the Student Equity Needs Index, which they say are pivotal initiatives that have supported the district’s highest-need students.
The activists rallied outside LAUSD headquarters in downtown to raise awareness about the board’s vote Tuesday on the matter. They are further urging district officials to protect mental health services and counseling, and to invest in community-based safety programs.
District officials have maintained their commitment to supporting all students.
“Every decision we make has to balance two realities: continuing to invest in students and staff while preparing for ongoing fiscal uncertainty,” Acting LAUSD Superintendent Andres Chait previously said.
In 2018, the district rewrote its school-funding formula, known as SENI, and doubled the amount of dollars for schools with students identified as “highest-needs.” Advocacy groups such as Partnership, Inner City Struggle, Community Coalition of South L.A. and others, had pushed for the change.
Meanwhile, the Black Student Achievement Plan provides more support to Black students by providing them with additional counseling, resources, cultural activities and field trips to historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs.
But these two equity initiatives are under threat as district officials grapple with fiscal challenges.
“Just days ago, I graduated from LAUSD, and this fall I will be attending UCLA. As I stand here in my graduation gown, I want people to understand: This is what investment looks like,” Mariyah Williams, a recent graduate of San Pedro High School and leader with Students Deserve, said during the news conference.
“Programs like BSAP provide mentorship, college readiness support, mental health resources and opportunities that help Black students succeed. Black students are not a budget problem — we are an investment. LAUSD must reject these cuts and fully protect BSAP and SENI.”
Daniel Sierra, a member of Students Deserve and LAUSD alumnus set to attend UC Berkeley in the fall, emphasized that he benefited from the Black Student Achievement Plan even as a Latino.
“BSAP gave students access to school climate advocates, counselors, mental health support and leadership opportunities that changed our lives,” Sierra said. “My school climate advocate helped me grow as a leader and student. When LAUSD cuts BSAP and SENI, it is also cutting pathways to colleges like UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley for Black, brown and other underrepresented students.”
Advocates argued that reducing funding for SENI could result in fewer teachers, academic supports and resources for students facing significant challenges such as homelessness, and poverty.
In May, the LAUSD Board of Education approved the elimination of 657 jobs, affecting positions within the district’s central office. The plan was to save an estimated $90 million annually — one aspect of larger fiscal stabilization plan adopted in June 2024 to address a budget deficit.
The district anticipates more budget troubles. District officials have forecasted a $1.4 billion deficit in the 2027-28 school year, and a $3.6 billion deficit in the 2028-29 school year.
As part of this plan, the district is expected to consider more cost-saving measures, which consist of an estimated 6,000 layoffs and mandatory furlough days, among other cost-cutting measures.
District officials will consider a proposal to eliminate funding for the Student Equity Needs Index and a major reduction in funding for the Black Student Achievement Plan.
The proposal would reduce BSAP funding by $150 million over the next two years, reducing the program’s budget from $175 million in the 2025-26 school year to a proposed $25 million by the 2027-28 school year — representing an 86% decrease.