Dive Brief:
- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state of California Thursday, alleging that minority and low-income students haven't been given equal education opportunities.
- Cruz v. California rests on the belief that California is in violation of its state Constitution's equal protection guarantee due to a number of educational factors.
- Among those mentioned: Unstable staffing, a lack of course offerings, classroom interruptions, security issues, and chronic absenteeism.
Dive Insight:
Cruz v. California implores the state to create a system to track the days and minutes of instruction time, taking into account when time is being lost due to interruptions.
"Something as basic as learning time — real learning time — is disproportionately distributed to kids as a function of their ZIP Code," Mark Rosenbaum, chief counsel of the ACLU of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times.
This isn't the first lawsuit against the state of California demanding equal education. Also on the books is Vergara v. California, a suit in which nine students are suing the state for similar reasons. That lawsuit is spearheaded by Silicon Valley advocacy group StudentsMatter.
The timing of this particular ACLU case is not missed, either. Next Tuesday, June 3, California residents will vote in the primary race for state superintendent.