discrimination Archives – Western Center on Law & Poverty

Lawsuit alleging discrimination against Black students with disabilities ends in settlement

May 23, 2023May 24, 2023, By Sacramento Bee, by Marcus Smith

Black students with disabilities who attend public schools in Sacramento will receive more support to remain in class with their peers thanks to a settlement between a nonprofit and the school district.

After four years of litigation, the nonprofit, Black Parallel School Board (BPSB), and the Sacramento City Unified School District have come to a settlement agreement in a lawsuit that alleged students of color, particularly Black students, experienced excessive and disparate exclusionary disciplinary measures such as suspension, expulsion, and involuntary and undocumented removal from classrooms.

“The settlement is a result of years of advocacy. Not just by the Black Parallel School Board, but by the broader community of Sacramento, advocates for disability rights and racial equity in education as well,” said Darryl White, senior chair of BPSB.

The BPSB is a community-based membership organization that developed in 2007 to serve Black children, primarily those attending public school in Sacramento. The nonprofit was assisted by the Equal Justice Society, Disability Rights California, National Center for Youth Law and Western Center on Law and Poverty in coming to the settlement.

Changes coming to Sacramento City Unified after discrimination lawsuit settlement

May 23, 2023May 24, 2023, By Kandace Redd, ABC 10

The Sacramento City Unified School District is required to make changes to ensure all students have access to an education.

The changes include reducing the disproportionate discipline rate of students with disabilities, especially Black children. It’s all part of a settlement in a discrimination lawsuit between the district, students and a Black-led organization.

Three students, along with a community organization named the Black Parallel School Board, filed the lawsuit against the district in Sept. 2019.

They accused the district of segregating students with disabilities — particularly Black students —from their peers without disabilities. They also claimed students with disabilities were placed in separate classrooms or schools, and that those students faced “excessive and exclusionary discipline” for behavior caused by their disabilities.

Housing Search With a Voucher Is Difficult in Los Angeles County. A Homeless Student Received Aid for an Apartment. Then Came the Hard Part.

February 27, 2023February 28, 2023, By Corina Knoll, New York Times,

LOS ANGELES — Many of the apartment listings were outdated or offered scant details. Sometimes the rent was a few hundred dollars higher than advertised.

If she managed to get someone on the phone, Jacqueline Benitez would inquire about square footage, about parking, about whether the landlord might accept a rescue tabby named Kiwi.

But when she brought up her housing voucher, the tone would usually shift.

“They would say, ‘No, we do not accept Section 8, sorry.’ Or, ‘We tried Section 8 in the past, and it didn’t work for us,’” Ms. Benitez said, referring to the commonly used term for the vouchers. At 21 years old, she had found herself stuck in a loop of hope and rejection.

Landing an apartment in Los Angeles County can be an arduous journey in a region struggling with a housing shortage and homelessness crisis, where even those with steady middle-class salaries have found themselves in a rat race for a home.

For the impoverished, the search can feel ultimately impossible.

“Are you going to interrupt your search to fight every landlord who says, ‘I’m not going to rent to you because you have Section 8?’” said Nisha Vyas, an attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “It’s more likely you’re going to keep trying to find someone who’s going to say yes.”

Will California’s plan for clearing homeless camps work?

November 17, 2021, CalMatters

“In a recent report, Garrow and her colleagues argue housing status should be a protected social group, a policy Martin’s group and the Western Center on Law and Poverty hope to advance in the Legislature’s next session.”

Beyond Aesthetic: What Haircare Brands Must Remember When Speaking to the Black Community

September 15, 2021September 16, 2021, ADWEEK

“The Crown Act is led by the Crown Coalition founded by Dove, the National Urban League, Color of Change and the Western Center on Law & Poverty. As of July 2, 2021, the Crown Act is law in 13 U.S. states, hopefully a beginning of the end of hair discrimination nationwide.”

Crown act focused on ending hair discrimination expands to help fight against all forms of systemic racism

June 19, 2020June 25, 2020, Because of Them We Can

“In 2019, a Black beauty alliance was formed with the goal of “creating a respectful and open world for natural hair.” Dove teamed up with the National Urban League, Color of Change, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty to form the CROWN Coalition and help push legislation that would prevent employers and schools from discriminating against a person based on their natural hairstyle.”

PRESS RELEASE: Sacramento City Unified School District and Advocacy Groups Pursue Settlement of Lawsuit Alleging Disability and Race Discrimination

December 20, 2019January 30, 2020

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

SACRAMENTO, CA: The Sacramento City Unified School District (District) and plaintiffs suing the District for alleged discrimination against students based on race and disability asked the federal court to pause litigation so the parties may seek potential resolution through settlement.

The lawsuit, alleged as a class-action, was filed by a coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups on behalf of the Black Parallel School Board (BPSB) and three students in the District. The suit alleges that the District’s policies and practices in the areas of special education and student discipline harm students with disabilities, and in particular, Black students with disabilities.

While the District does not agree with the allegations in the lawsuit, “we appreciate plaintiffs’ willingness to work with us,” said District Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar. “The District believes that we should work cooperatively with the plaintiffs to identify potential policies and practices that may not serve the best interests of the District’s students with disabilities, and to jointly find solutions to those issues, which would include addressing factors which limit service options or strategies for serving District students,” said Superintendent Aguilar.

The parties have asked the Court to grant a seven-month stay of the litigation. During the stay, and by early February, the District has offered and agreed to implement several measures intended to benefit students with disabilities, including Black students with disabilities. These measures include: Halting all District suspensions based on “willful defiance” not only for students in kindergarten through third grade, but up and through eighth grade; Offering students a special education assessment plan within 15 days of a request for such assessment; and Directing school administrators and staff not to ask or require students to leave school as an informal response to concerns with student behavior.

“These measures are significant to students with disabilities and their parents and guardians whom we and other advocates in our community fight for and support,” said BPSB Chairperson Darryl White. “The District’s willingness to implement these interim measures has encouraged BPSB to engage in cooperative discussions with the District about potential broader and more permanent reforms and protections for our students.”

Also, during the stay, an agreed-upon set of experts will review the District’s data and practices in the areas of special education, student discipline, and implicit bias. That review will include expert interviews of students, parents, District staff, and other stakeholders. After the assessment and study of the information gathered, the experts will issue recommendations that the parties will consider as part of a possible settlement to create positive, lasting change for students and their families.

The Court granted the requested stay of litigation today, December 20, 2019.

Media Contact:

Courtney McKinney, Director of Communications, cmckinney[at]wclp.org

Co-Counsel:

Disability Rights California
Equal Justice Society
National Center for Youth Law

Tag: discrimination

Tag: discrimination

Lawsuit alleging discrimination against Black students with disabilities ends in settlement

Changes coming to Sacramento City Unified after discrimination lawsuit settlement

Housing Search With a Voucher Is Difficult in Los Angeles County. A Homeless Student Received Aid for an Apartment. Then Came the Hard Part.

Will California’s plan for clearing homeless camps work?

Read More

Beyond Aesthetic: What Haircare Brands Must Remember When Speaking to the Black Community

Read More

Crown act focused on ending hair discrimination expands to help fight against all forms of systemic racism

Read More

PRESS RELEASE: Sacramento City Unified School District and Advocacy Groups Pursue Settlement of Lawsuit Alleging Disability and Race Discrimination

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