Did L.A. Unified Short-change Needy Students?

Lawsuit alleges millions were stolen from needy students. Could the district benefit from fresh blood?

The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month, the Los Angeles Unified School District has allegedly mishandled funds that were intended to assist students with special needs, and this may end up diverting $2 billion from these important programs by 2020. If this is true, it will not only be a major blight on the L.A. Unified District but it will also signal the need for an influx of new educators who are focused on getting the money where it belongs. For example, Purdue has one of the finest Masters in Special Education programs available, and it is clear that this is a good time for interested individuals to get involved. It is clear that politicians, even in very liberal state like California, have reduced pedagogy to a ‘budgetary afterthought’; taking advantage of the most precious of public dollars used for families with special needs children.

Sadly, even a completely new administration will not be able to recover the money that has already been reportedly lost. A recently filed lawsuit states that $450 million has been misappropriated by being utilized in a manner that is not consistent with state law. The state of California’s educational reforms regarding students who are low-income or have other special education needs have been in effect since 2013. This means that the $450 million annual budget must be used for students who can be defined as having special needs.

Unfortunately, there is one major piece of the reform law that L.A. Unified is apparently not following. It is not enough to simply put the $450 million into whichever special education programs the district leaders would like. Instead, state law requires them to use the money to invest in improved or increased services for every applicable student. This is an equitable way to split the money amongst all special needs students, and it should also make it possible for each district in the state to move forward with the implementation of much-needed services.

The lawsuit alleges that L.A. Unified is the only school district in California that is not in compliance with the state’s simple allocation guidelines. Instead, administrators made the decision to only count 79 percent of their eligible students. Only those who are in foster care, low-income or learning English as a second language are being factored in by L.A. Unified, and this dramatically alters the usage of the state’s money. All of the points of criteria that are included in L.A. Unified’s plan do place a special educational burden on children, but California lawmakers also intended the money they have provided to make a difference in the lives of the 21 percent of eligible students who do not fit into these three categories.

Representatives from the school district have indicated that they expect to be completely vindicated by the findings from this lawsuit because they believe that the state’s guidelines actually give them the leeway to make allocation decisions. In other words, L.A. Unified might not be required to factor the full 100 percent of their students with special education needs into the equation. However, if this is the case, it still seems like a very poor choice to consciously decide not to include everyone and use transparent accounting practices at the same time.

Sadly, there is no industry that is completely free of the possibility of scandals of this nature. This does make it even more vital for people who truly have the best interests of special needs students in mind to enter this specific branch of the education field. Current and future educators who get a Masters in Special Education have the potential to change lives. These educators can also work their way up so that they are eventually in a position to make important decisions regarding special education funding and programs.