Black Parallel School Board et al. v. Sacramento City Unified School District

Cases
May 22, 2023

Black Parallel School Board et al. v. Sacramento City Unified School District

A black child in a school classroom.

New Case Agreement- Federal Sacramento City Unified School District Settlement in Race and Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Increases Accountability

Agreement requires five-year monitoring period and action plan for all students to receive an equal education

A group of plaintiffs that includes the Black Parallel School Board and several individual students has reached a settlement agreement with the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) in a lawsuit that challenged the district’s longstanding harmful practices of excluding and segregating students with disabilities, particularly Black students with disabilities.

The settlement was reached Friday in the class action suit, which was initially filed in 2019. The suit accused the district of discriminatory segregation of students with disabilities and Black students with disabilities into highly restrictive classrooms and schools, plus other harmful practices laid bare in a 2017 report, based on a district self-audit. The suit also highlighted the District’s failure to provide these students with the educational and supportive services that the law requires. Plaintiffs alleged this failure contributed to grossly disparate rates of suspension and expulsion of Black students—among the very worst in the state for Black boys in 2018-2019 — as well as for students with disabilities.

Background

In September 2019, the Black Parallel School Board and three students filed a lawsuit against the Sacramento City Unified School District (District). The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all students with disabilities in the District. The lawsuit claims the District discriminated against these students based on disability and race.

The lawsuit is about these key problems:

  • Segregation of students with disabilities, especially Black students with disabilities;
  • Failure to provide necessary services and supports to students with disabilities, especially Black students with disabilities;
  • Suspension of students for disability-based behavior, especially Black students with disabilities; and
  • Bullying and harassment due to students’ race and disabilities.

This lawsuit is also against Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar and others responsible for the District.

Case Name: Black Parallel School Board, et al. v. Sacramento City Unified School District, et al.

Case Number: 2:19−CV−01768−TLN−KJN

Co-Counsel: Equal Justice Society, National Center for Youth Law, and Western Center on Law & Poverty

Plaintiffs

One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is the Black Parallel School Board (BPSB). Founded in 2008, the BPSB is a community-based membership organization that supports the educational growth and achievement of Black children, primarily those attending SCUSD. The plaintiffs also include three Black students with disabilities who experienced discrimination based on race and disability at SCUSD, including the following:

  1. When C.S. had disability-based behavior problems, the District shortened his school day, denying him valuable educational opportunities, and eventually suspended him entirely.
  2. When S.A. was called racial slurs, the District failed to respond meaningfully and also sent him home repeatedly for disability-based behaviors.
  3. When K.E. experienced homophobic, racial and disability-based harassment at his school, the District also failed to address the toxic school environment and instead moved him to a segregated, non-public school, away from his peers and regular education programs.

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