"We will listen to all voices prior to proceeding."
- LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board was scheduled to vote on the membership list for the Community Advisory Committee at its 1:00 PM meeting on August 22, 2023. This list was originally supposed to be considered in June, but the matter was pulled from the agenda when concerns were expressed that outspoken members, including the Chair, were purged from the committee. While it was hoped that the extra time would be used to correct mistakes that had been made, District bureaucrats continued to shut the CAC membership out of the process and submitted a list of recommendations that only changed one name.
In anticipation of the vote, I sent a letter to members of the Board expressing concern about the committee's lack of involvement in evaluating the candidates and making a recommendation. I summarized these points during the public comment portion of the 9:00 AM meeting on August 22, 2023:
Later today you will vote on approving a list of candidates for the Community Advisory Committee or CAC. Having this committee is mandated by the California Ed Code and is supposed to guide' your policies for Special Education Services. To accomplish this mission, this committee must be given the opportunity to act independently from the District's bureaucracy. Unfortunately, this independence has been compromised by methods used to create the list that you will vote on.
Under Its by-laws, the CAC was supposed to establish an Appointment Committee to create the rubric that would be used to score applicants. Instead, the Office of Student, Family, and Community Engagement (SFaCE) hijacked the process. Since the resulting recommendations were not created in accordance with the by-laws and have not been chosen by the Committee's peers, as required by the California Ed code, this list must be rejected. I ask you to vote accordingly.
After these comments were made Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced that the "item was withdrawn from today's meeting agenda." Citing his "concerns about process," Carvalho said that the item would not be brought to the Board for approval "until those concerns are addressed".
Shortly after the Superintendent's announcement, an email was sent to applicants stating:
"After further review, there were some inconsistencies identified in the selection process which was implemented in the initial application scoring. As such and out of [an] abundance of caution, submitted applications will be reviewed and scored again, in alignment with the required process."
When asked for his reaction to the item being pulled from the agenda, outgoing CAC Chair John (J.P.) Perron said that he "would personally like to thank the Superintendent for respecting the voice of the CAC." He also noted that he is "looking forward to working with the Superintendent to get the process right."
In addition to the CAC, the LAUSD has two other state-mandated parent committees - the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) and the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). All three are supposed to be assisted in fulfilling their mission by the District's SFaCE employees. However, it was clear from public comments made during the August 22, 2023, meeting that the CAC is not alone in being bullied by the District's bureaucrats. Violations of California's open meeting laws seem to be a recurring problem.
This second delay in the Board's consideration of the CAC's membership provides a new opportunity to ensure that, as envisioned by the California Ed Code, this committee is selected by its peers. Hopefully, changes will also be made so that SFaCE returns to its role of assisting the parent committees instead of imposing their will.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
