A state judge ruled that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will have to wait until the U.S. Department of Education rules on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s administrative appeal before proceeding with litigation.
As reported in the Southern California Record, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles sued the LA Unified School District alleging that it was withholding federally funded services from reaching eligible, lower-income Catholic students.
“Fights over funding are sadly a common occurrence in education,” said Martin F. Lueken, director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center at EdChoice. “Such disputes, however, could be avoided if California had a system of funding where education dollars flow directly to parents and parents then decide how those resources are spent on their child’s education, rather than districts deciding how dollars flow to schools.”
Attorney Kevin Troy who represents the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles declined to comment.
LA County Superior Court Judge Douglas Stern granted the school district’s motion to dismiss in April because a June 25, 2021, administrative investigation that was decided in favor of Catholic Schools by the California Department of Education (CDE) is pending appeal with the U. S. Department of Education, according to media reports.
Allegations against the LAUSD in the CDE's investigation report include that it failed to accurately count the number of low-income school children, and failed to consult in a timely manner with the church about ending pooling.
“The Archdiocese filed an administrative complaint with the California Department of Education after LAUSD blocked all but 17 of more than 100 previously eligible Catholic schools from receiving federal Title I services, which assist underperforming students with vital instructional services such as math and English intervention and counseling,” Paul Escala, LA Archdiocese Catholic schools superintendent, previously told the Southern California Record.
LAUSD was ordered to provide status in writing to the CDE of its compliance with corrective actions no later than 60 days from the date of this report but the school district appealed the decision.
“Parents know best how to direct money in order to get the best education possible to meet their child’s needs,” Lueken told the Southern California Record.