"Instead of being placed in meaningful courses, students are placed in faux courses called 'Inside Work Experience' in Oakland, where they perform administrative tasks like making copies and running errands for teachers instead of engaging in meaningful instruction," she said.
Plaintiffs include 18 students in seven schools in Oakland, Richmond, Los Angeles and Compton. Attorneys for the students, led by Public Counsel and the ACLU of Southern California, are seeking to have the suit certified as a class action.
The suit names the state, the California Department of Education, the state Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson as defendants. It alleges that the failure to address the factors that lead to lost learning time in the state's most troubled school districts violates students' fundamental right to education.
The suit argues that even though state officials are aware of the many issues that lead to lost learning time in classrooms, they have done too little to support school districts in dealing with them. Ultimately, the suit says, state officials are responsible for providing resources to correct the myriad problems that are eroding instructional time.
“A lot of students don’t realize that these problems are a result of a failure by the state to deliver equal educational opportunities and put sufficient supports in schools," Eidmann said. "Students unfortunately think it’s because of them. They say, 'Oh, this teacher left because the students are bad, or why would any teacher want to stay in a school like this?' And that’s simply not true and we can’t let students believe it any longer.”
Oakland schools spokesman Troy Flint said Thursday the district is already taking steps. For example, he said that Castlemont is moving to block scheduling to cut down on empty class periods.
"It's about finding ways to better compensate teachers and principals to create stability," Flint said. "It's about managing better from a central office level, so sites feel supported and so that students receive the services they need."
California schools Superintendent Torlakson and state Board of Education President Michael Kirst issued a statement saying that while they hadn't yet reviewed the lawsuit, they intend to continue the state's "historic effort to shift authority over decision making to local school districts, empowering them to determine how best to meet the needs of the students they serve."
Below: a copy of the complaint, Cruz et al. v. State of California et al.
KQED's Isabel Angell contributed to this post.
