How a Lawsuit May (Or May Not) Change How School Districts Spend Covid Money

In 2021, a handful of families at two of California’s largest urban school districts, Oakland and Los Angeles, sued the state claiming that students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, groups already prone to educational disparities, fell even further behind in the chaotic early days of the pandemic.

CalMatters spoke to one plaintiff who said, “between March and June of 2020, neither of my children learned anything in school.” 

From chronic absenteeism rates to standardized tests, lower income students and students of color have long fared worse than more privileged counterparts. That was exacerbated by virtual learning during the pandemic. School data has shown that, although test scores fell across the board, the performance of students of color and those from lower-income families were hit harder than their peers. 

Last week, the state settled that lawsuit to the tune of $2 billion. That’s about $340 for each student in California’s public K-12 schools. It’s a big win for the plaintiffs, but it doesn’t mean more money for California schools.  

The settlement means that schools statewide will have to direct $2 billion of the funding they were allocated from California’s $6.3 billion Learning Recovery Block Grant toward students most at risk of falling on the wrong side of the yawning achievement gap. Those groups include students of color or those who are chronically absent. The settlement will also limit what the money can be used for, require districts to turn to proven strategies to catch students up and keep track of the results.

San Diego Unified was allocated $81.5 million from the grant. Those funds won’t expire until the 2027-28 school year. 

But exactly what that will look like for local students isn’t entirely clear. 

Similar Trends Played out in Local Districts 

From the 2018-19 to 2021-22 school year, the first post-pandemic year for which test results were available, the math scores of Black San Diego Unified students fell about nine percentage points. That’s two percentage points larger than the district’s overall drop. There were some confounding results, like the scores of socioeconomically disadvantaged students faring better than their more privileged counterparts.  

Last year there were ever so slight improvements in test scores, but the district is far from where it was prior to the pandemic. 

San Diego Unified’s achievement gap is as wide as ever, and in some places has grown. Black students’ test score are about 44 percent lower than White students in math and about 38 percent lower in English. Latino students’ scores about 34 percent lower in math and about 38 percent lower in English.  

What Does This Mean for Local School Districts?  

San Diego Unified Board Member Richard Barrera said the state hasn’t laid out specific expectations aside from the broad mandate and likely won’t until California’s legislature approves the settlement. But he thinks the district is already using those funds to target kids who are falling behind. Given that belief, Barrera said the mandate may just mean the district needs to “keep doing what we’re already doing.”  

“I think we’ve been very clear with not just the state learning recovery money, but the federal Covid funds, the need to prioritize what we define as spotlight students,” Barrera said. 

Spotlight students, he explained, are those for whom “if the school system doesn’t get it right, there is no backup plan,” Barrera said. So, kids whose families may not be able to afford tutors or enrichment camps that could make up for lost learning.  

Barrera referenced the district’s expanded summer school offerings and high-quality tutoring as an example of those efforts. But he also talked about things that don’t strictly fall into classroom learning, like community schools, a program spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom that the district has leaned into.  

Things like community schools are important for students who may have fallen behind and are socioeconomically disadvantaged, Barrera said. Think of it like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, students who may be facing challenges, whether that be housing insecurity or hunger, need to deal with those barriers before even thinking about Shakespeare or algebra. 

“There’s tons of research that supports before you just layer on additional academic support, you’ve got to take care of motivation, connection, the social and emotional needs and wellness needs,” Barrera said. “You’re not going to make any progress just by giving more time in terms of academic instruction,” he said. 

Now, it’s not clear if the state will buy into this logic, even though the Governor has touted his support for community schools. Additionally, given the potential for new reporting requirements, it’s not all that clear that districts can measure “wellness,” in the same way that they can measure test scores or letter grades. Still, given the state’s boosting of such measures, a reversal of its endorsement of more holistic strategies would be a shock, Barrera said. 

“If those strategies were not emphasized in the guidance that comes from the settlement, then I think a lot of people will put their hands up and say, ‘what about everything that you have consistently been supporting for several years now?’” Barrera said. 

Content Bouncing Around My Mind Palace 

• The Union-Tribune cracked open district budget books and took a look at how much local superintendents are paid. At the bottom is Olga Koeppen, superintendent of the single school district Vallecitos Elementary, who makes $144,126 in pay and benefits. At the top (excluding Cheryl James-Ward, who was paid an additional year of salary after her firing by San Dieguito Union High) was David Miyashiro, who leads Cajon Valley Union. Miyashiro, whose district is about one sixth the size of San Diego Unified, took home $508,200 in pay and benefits. 

What We’re Writing 

• Days after torrential rains brought flooding to the community of Southcrest, I stopped by Cesar Chavez Elementary to see how the school fared. Luckily, it was spared from much of the flooding that devastated the surrounding community. Still, Chavez’s principal warned that it would likely take months for community members to recover.  
• Poway Unified Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps has been under scrutiny for months following allegations that she harassed members of the Del Norte High School’s softball team, of which her daughter is also a member. Last week, the district announced they were placing Phelps on paid administrative leave, with a district spokesperson writing that the investigation into the allegations had reached a “sensitive point.” 
• This year, the San Diego community College District, already the best-paying community college district in the county, increased its minimum wage to be in line with MIT’s Living Wage figure for what a family of four with two working adults needed to make to survive in San Diego: $30 an hour.