A Review of Los Angeles Unified Data Following the OCR Compliance Investigation

Abstract

In 2011, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) conducted a compliance review of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to examine the district’s provision of resources and opportunities to schools with predominantly African American students as compared with schools with predominantly White students. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which LAUSD has responded to OCR findings. Research questions include the following: (a) How do LAUSD majority White and majority African American elementary schools compare on performance indicator variables? (b) What are the differences in teacher quality variables between majority African American and majority White schools? (c) How successful has the OCR review been to date in accomplishing the outcomes advocated for by the OCR? Findings indicate that majority African American schools continue to have significantly lower teacher and student attendance, student performance, and percentage of students identified as gifted and talented (GT). African American students also continue to experience higher rates of disciplinary incidents as compared with White students.

What makes restorative justice equitable? “It’s a practice, not a program.”

“…Likewise, discipline gaps for both race and gender persisted in Gregory et al's (2022) year-long randomized trial with eighteen urban schools in one city in the Northeastern US. Studies of RJ implementation in Los Angeles (Hashim et al, 2018) and Oakland (Robert and Okilwa, 2022) did not alter the preexisting White and African American student discipline gaps in those cities. Davison et al's (2022) study of a US West Coast school district revealed that restorative practice implementation correlated with reduced suspension rates for every racial group except Black students (Davison et al, 2022, p. 695).…”

“…Studies of RJ implementation in Los Angeles (Hashim et al. , 2018) and Oakland (Robert and Okilwa, 2022) did not alter the preexisting White and African American student discipline gaps in those cities. Davison et al.…”

Restorative Justice in a “Don’t Say Gay” State: Are Relationships Enough?

“…In some cases, they correlate with narrowed racial discipline gaps (Gregory et al, 2014;Mansfield et al, 2018). However, the majority of studies on suspension rates and restorative justice suggest that, even in districts using restorative justice, students of color are still suspended more often than White students (Anyon et al, 2016;Joseph, 2019;Robert & Okilwa, 2018). Even with the option to hold a restorative circle, leaders may still use exclusionary practices out of habit or for the sake of expediency (Abdou et al, 2023).…”

Going Restorative, Staying Tough: Urban Principals’ Perceptions of Restorative Practices in Collocated Small Schools

“…Many urban districts, including Los Angeles, Oakland, Denver, and New York City, responded to the federal guidance by implementing alternatives to suspension and suspension bans, which have correlated with decreased suspension rates overall but have not necessarily resulted in narrowing racial discipline gaps (e.g., Hashim et al, 2018;Robert & Okilwa, 2018). These persistent racial disparities suggest that, while discipline policies may change, students of color are still more harshly and frequently disciplined.…”