News Summary
The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to offer remedial education for hundreds of thousands of students due to a lawsuit claiming educational rights were infringed upon during the COVID-19 pandemic. The settlement, pending court approval, aims to address significant learning gaps exacerbated by inadequate distance learning policies, particularly affecting marginalized groups. Key provisions include high-dosage tutoring, mandatory assessments, and teacher training. This initiative represents a crucial step towards mitigating educational disparities in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Los Angeles – The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has agreed to provide remedial education for hundreds of thousands of students as part of a settlement from a lawsuit filed in 2020. This legal action represented low-income and marginalized students who claimed that the district’s distance learning policies during the COVID-19 pandemic infringed upon their rights to a basic education and discriminated based on race and socioeconomic status.
The settlement, known as Shaw, et al. v. LAUSD et al., is currently pending approval in the Superior Court of California. If the court grants approval, the settlement will initiate a series of remedial measures beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, spanning three years.
Key Provisions of the Settlement
The settlement includes several critical educational support measures designed to address the learning deficits exacerbated by the pandemic. These provisions are set to include:
- At least 45 hours of high-dosage tutoring for over 100,000 affected students.
- Mandatory assessments in math and English language arts for students.
- Required training programs for teachers to improve instructional quality.
- Outreach initiatives to tackle chronic absenteeism that affects both students and their families.
- Summer school programs that will continue through the summer of 2028.
Wider Context of Educational Lawsuits
This settlement represents one of the most comprehensive resolutions emerging from a range of lawsuits related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational rights. Prior legal actions addressing COVID-19’s effects have tackled issues such as masking requirements, the provision of services for students with disabilities, and access to technological resources necessary for remote learning.
In a related case, Cayla J. v. State of California, the state committed to spending $2 billion to assist students in recovering from the educational setbacks associated with the pandemic.
Specific Concerns Addressed by the Shaw Lawsuit
The Shaw lawsuit stressed that marginalized groups, particularly Black and Latinx students from low-income families, experienced disproportionate setbacks due to insufficient instructional time and limited access to necessary technology. According to the lawsuit, LAUSD’s distance learning plan permitted high school students a maximum of only 13 hours of live instruction weekly, a significant drop from the 31.5 hours offered before the pandemic. Overall, the lawsuit argued that on average, students lost between 17 to 19.5 hours of instructional time each week during the pandemic.
LAUSD’s Response
While LAUSD has issued no public comment regarding the ongoing litigation, the implications of this settlement represent a significant step towards addressing the educational inequities experienced during school closures. As schools prepare to implement these remedial measures, the aim is to bolster the academic foundation of students who have faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic.
The anticipated approval of the Shaw settlement could offer a path toward mitigating some of the educational disparities exacerbated by the pandemic and ensure that all students have access to the support they need as they continue their educational journeys in the wake of COVID-19.
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HERE Resources
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Additional Resources
- K12 Dive: LAUSD Settlement on High-Dosage Tutoring
- Los Angeles Times: Delta Jet Fuel Dumped on Kids Settlement
- KTLA: Delta Fuel Dump Settlement
- San Francisco Chronicle: Los Angeles Lawsuit Settlement
- The New York Times: LA County Sex Abuse Claims Settlement
- Wikipedia: Education in the United States
- Google Search: LAUSD Settlement
- Google Scholar: Educational Inequities
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Educational Equity
- Google News: COVID-19 Education Lawsuits
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LOS ANGELES STAFF WRITER The LOS ANGELES STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HERELosAngeles.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and beyond, specializing in "news you can use" with coverage of product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates, while delivering top reporting on high-value events like the Academy Awards, LA Auto Show, and Los Angeles Marathon, extending coverage to key organizations such as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, plus leading businesses in entertainment and technology like Warner Bros. and SpaceX, and as part of the broader HERE network including HEREAnaheim.com , HERECostaMesa.com , HEREHuntingtonBeach.com , and HERESantaAna.com , providing comprehensive, credible insights into Southern California's dynamic landscape. HERE Anaheim HERE Beverly Hills HERE Coronado HERE Costa Mesa HERE Hollywood HERE Huntington Beach HERE Long Beach HERE Los Angeles HERE Mission Viejo HERE San Diego HERE Santa Ana
