A lawsuit won by California students claiming that the state violated their civil rights by not providing proper reading education has resulted in a $50 million settlement.
Ella T. v. California was filed in 2017 by non-profit Public Counsel, in association with pro-bono law firm Morrison Foerster, according to a press release.
"The State has not implemented its own plan or otherwise taken sufficient steps to ensure that literacy education is available to all children," wrote counsel for the plaintiffs in their complaint. "As a result, the State continues to allow children from disadvantaged communities to attend schools that are unable to provide them an opportunity to obtain basic literacy. These children do not learn to read properly, let alone to write properly, perform basic math functions, and comprehend state-mandated curricular content."
The students sued the state of California in the Superior Court of Los Angeles.
"The chronically poor reading outcomes among California's students demonstrate the need for alternatives for the failing education status quo that sacrifices student learning for teachers unions' demands," said Cecilia Iglesias, president of California Policy Center's Parents Union. "While the Ella T. v. California lawsuit may shame districts into enacting some beneficial reforms, ultimately more quality public school options are needed to provide students with an educational lifeline."
The state will pay the plaintiffs' attorney fees and costs in the amount of $1.9 million dollars, which represents 3.5% of the award, but it won't be withdrawn from the $50 million that its ordered to disburse to 75 public schools that have the lowest reading scores.
"The award won't bankrupt the state of California because it's so huge and has billions of dollars," said Brian Kabateck, an attorney with KBK Lawyers.
Before the money can be released, however, the legislature must pass a law and schools are required to apply for grants.
"Defendants will propose legislation that specifies that grant amounts are determined based on the school’s grade 3 enrollment, with three tiers (small, medium, large) based on school size," stated the settlement terms posted online. "The final grant awards will be set based on the final list of eligible schools and distribution across the three funding tiers."
But there may be delays and the need for a time extension due to the impact of COVID-19.
"Given the nation is in the middle of a public health crisis and we don’t know the impact COVID-19 will have on our state budget and people of California, any expenditure of money should be of concern to all Californians right now," Kabateck told the Northern California Record.
"The virus will take priority over everything for the rest of the year and we don't know yet how much money we will need to get through this virus problem," Kabateck said. "The city of Los Angeles has shut down its schools."