This article underscores challenges that we are all too familiar with—how an underfunded and overburdened education system disproportionately affects our most vulnerable students. It also sheds light on the complex intersectionality between disabilities and other compounding factors, such as race and language barriers, that exacerbate these inequities.
Pittsburg Unified School District in Contra Costa County has settled a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, which alleged that Black students, English learners, and students with disabilities were denied proper education, disproportionately suspended or expelled, and improperly placed in special education. The district agreed to hire two independent consultants to address issues around discipline practices, special education placements, and literacy instruction for these groups. The settlement aims to create a more equitable educational environment through a detailed plan that will be monitored until 2029.
The lawsuit highlighted concerns, including that the district’s special education teachers were untrained in grade-level instruction and that Black students faced disproportionately harsh disciplinary actions. One plaintiff reported a student with autism being subjected to non-academic activities, like arts and crafts, instead of meaningful education. The district also had significant racial disparities in suspensions and expulsions.
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