L.A. Unified Board of Education Approves $25 Million For Highest Need Students

Last night the L.A. Unified Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the School Equity Need Index 2018 that includes community indicators that will identify the highest-needs students to invest $25 million dollars from Governor Jerry Brown’s 2018-2019 California budget. The resolution also asks the Superintendent to create a working group for community stakeholder input.

In a statement, LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia said, “Action has defined progress in America and progress in our district. The path towards 100 percent graduation is an imperfect process that requires urgency and a new direction. With today’s action, each school community maintains their budget and our highest needs schools receive an injection of additional investment. We thank every partner for student success that puts kids first.”

The newly passed resolution builds upon the 2014 ‘Equity is Justice’ resolution, which developed an “equity-based” index that identified the neediest schools to guide the state’s allocation of new supplemental funds.

Aurea Montes-Rodriguez, the Executive Vice President at Community Coalition, said this upon the passing of the resolution last night, “Today’s unanimous vote is a historic moment, as the LAUSD puts black and Latino high-needs students first by adopting the Student Equity Need Index 2.0.”

Adding to that, John Kim, Advancement Project’s Executive Director, said, “Today LAUSD leadership took bold action and is truly a model of how all of California can ensure that this is, indeed, a Golden State for all of us.”

Ths resolution helps to ensure that communities that have specific traumas or issues such as high levels of shootings or pollution, the LAUSD schools in those areas will receive additional funds to help the students who are served. This is good news because it means that the LAUSD Board is taking steps to correct and account for trauma that students in certain areas of the city suffer.

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