Equity for All? African American Students and California's Local Control and Accountability Plans

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Social Justice Praxis

Abstract

In 2013, California instituted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in an attempt to make school funding equitable. To secure these funds, school districts must submit Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs). Though the law requires school districts to “demonstrate comparable improvement in [the] academic achievement” of ethnic subgroups (AB 97, 2013, p. 91), we hypothesized that few have given specific attention to the needs of Black students in their LCAPs unless there was clear evidence of culturally responsive leadership. Because Black students have the highest academic needs in the state, we examined 25 district LCAPs that serve the highest population of Black students. Using content analysis, we found some districts were explicitly supporting Black students while others were circumspect.

Authors

• Wil Greer, California State University - San Bernardino

• Benikia Kressler, California State University - Fullerton

• Shena Sanchez, University of California - Los Angeles

• Laureen Adams, Claremont Graduate University

• Latoya Williams, Claremont Graduate University