Three cheers to the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit against the State of California and LAUSD, alleging (correctly) that seniority-based layoff policies completely screw low-income and minority students (because their schools tend to have far more teachers with little seniority).  Here's an excerpt from the media kit:

Massive teacher layoffs at three Los Angeles Unified School District middle schools have deprived thousands of low-income students and students of color of their legal right to an education consistent with prevailing statewide standards, a team of civil rights attorneys said in a class-action lawsuit filed today.

The lawsuit targets the state and LAUSD for carrying out budget cuts last year that disproportionately affected the three schools, decimating their teaching staffs. While many schools around the state lost zero teachers to the budget crisis, more than half of the teaching staffs at Gompers, Liechty, and Markham middle schools lost their jobs as permanent teachers. At Liechty, fully 72 percent of the teachers received layoff notices; at Markham, the layoffs included almost the entire English department along with every 8th grade history teacher.

For more info, contact:

Patrick Sinclair
Communications Director
Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
1541 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA  90017
213.201.2000 ext. 259
310.998.7449 (móvil)

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Massive Teacher Layoffs at Three LAUSD Schools Violated State Guarantee of Equal Education for All

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

www.aclu-sc.org/releases/view/103012

Related

All files pdf.

• Read the complaint. Large file. Download speed may vary.
• Read the full statement of Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU/SC chief counsel.
• Read the full statement of Sharail Reed, 8th grader and member of the AVID program at Markham middle school.
• Read the full statement of Concepciona Manuel-Flores, 7th grader at Markham middle school.