State education officials were ordered by a judge Wednesday to immediately help the Los Angeles Unified School District resolve continuing class-scheduling problems at Jefferson High School that have left some students unable to attend courses they need to graduate.
Alameda Superior Court Judge George Hernandez Jr., who is presiding over a lawsuit alleging failures by the state in ensuring adequate education for students at several schools across California, issued a temporary restraining order requiring the state Department of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction’s office to immediately arrange a meeting with LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy to resolve the situation.
Hernandez wrote in his ruling that the scheduling problems at Jefferson High School are due “in part to Jefferson’s (and/or LAUSD’s) inability to implement new scheduling software,” a reference to the district’s troubled MiSiS computerized student information system that has made Deasy a target of criticism by the teachers’ union and some students.
Despite the highly publicized problems, “there is no evidence of any organized effort to help those students who have been assigned to courses several weeks into the semester to catch up to their peers,” the judge wrote. “Jefferson teachers have testified that some students are unaware of which classes they have been assigned to, or removed from, and that there is no systematic effort to identify students who need to be reassigned to appropriate courses, e.g. to graduate, and thus some students are not aware that they need to ask for help.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the scheduling troubles at Jefferson High School resulted in students sitting in incorrect classes, content-less classes called “service” periods or in “adult classes” that offered no instruction. Other students were merely sent home because no classes were available, the attorneys argued.
According to the attorneys, one student — Jefferson High senior Jason Magana — was assigned to a graphic design class he had already passed instead of an economics class he needed to graduate. He also has two “home periods,” for which he is simply sent home.
“The judge’s order today affirms what we said when we filed the lawsuit — only the state superintendent and Board of Education have the power to intervene for all students, those at Jefferson and at the eight other schools in our lawsuit,” said Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel.
David Sapp of the ACLU of Southern California said the Jefferson situation is “extreme,” but it is also “typical of students at schools that have been ignored by the state for too long.”
Richard Zeiger, the California Department of Education’s chief deputy superintendent, said the state will work “immediately” to resolve the issues at Jefferson High.
“The department believes strongly that every child should have the classes he or she needs to graduate from high school,” Zeiger said. “This is a position I know we share with Los Angeles school officials. Scheduling of classes is a local matter that belongs with local school officials. In this particular case, the judge has ruled that LAUSD did not meet that responsibility.
“The judge has ordered state defendants to work with local officials to identify corrective actions and we will begin that work immediately,” Zeiger said.
The judge’s order requires state officials to meet with Deasy no later than Monday to discuss a resolution of the scheduling problem. The officials were ordered to identify every Jefferson student assigned to two or more of the “content-less” or home classes and those assigned to classes they have already passed, and offer them substitute courses. They also must develop a system for providing additional instruction time for students who were enrolled in classes late.
The plan developed must then be presented to the LAUSD Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday.
Deasy said he looked forward to meeting with the state officials “to explain the new resources needed.”
“This is another victory for youth in challenging circumstances,” Deasy said. “This is why I fought two years ago to have students have a full schedule, and why we are trying to negotiate the right to set a master schedule that meets individual school needs. We especially look to state Superintendent Tom Torlakson to support full and rigorous schedules for all youth.”
Already on the agenda for the board’s Tuesday meeting is another closed- door discussion on Deasy’s employment. The superintendent is scheduled to have a performance review later this month. The board has reportedly asked its attorneys to have discussions with Deasy about a possible agreement for the superintendent to step down.
— City News Service