Worth More LA is a group of parents and community members unwilling to accept educational cuts that deny opportunity to the children of Los Angeles.

We are legally challenging Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)’s distance learning plan in court. We think our kids’ futures are worth more than a plan that does not even meet California’s constitutional guarantee of a basic public education and disproportionately harms Black students Latino students, English learners, and students with disabilities.

Read more about the September 24 filing by clicking on the document links below:

• FAQ
• PARTNER ONE PAGER
• CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT

Even During A Pandemic LA’s Students Still Deserve An Education.  It’s time to tell LAUSD that our children are worth more.

LAUSD has denied opportunities to Black and Latino students for too long. The inequities of our education system are no longer hidden behind school walls, but are in our homes and we can see how LAUSD’s distance learning plan is deepening these inequities. We won’t go back to a system that doesn’t educate all kids. After a lost spring semester where LAUSD failed to engage 4 out of 10 students every day, the district’s distance learning plan for the Fall offers:

• No focused equity efforts. Last spring, Black and Latino students were 20% less likely to be engaged online. English learners and students with disabilities were left out and disengaged. LAUSD is providing a one size fits all schedule and program, rather than providing equitable opportunities to the students who have always received the least from the system.
• Not enough learning time. LAUSD has drastically cut the student school day. Every day, LAUSD is giving its students much less instructional time (including time with teachers and time spent learning alone) than other big California school districts.  Over the course of a year, a high school student in San Diego will get 90 more days of school than a Los Angeles high schooler.
• Not enough instructional time with teachers and classmates. At a moment when students need connection with their teachers and classmates  more than ever, LAUSD cut  instructional time with teachers by nearly 60% from what students  would normally get. Other districts are doing much more: high school students in Long Beach are getting twice as much time with their teachers every week.
• Not enough support and information for families. LAUSD is leaving out critical information about student progress and curriculum that families need to help their children while they are learning at home. This is especially harmful to students with disabilities and English learners.
• Not enough attention to student disconnection. In the Spring, LAUSD’s decision to neither provide video instruction, assess student learning, nor take attendance had a profound impact on students. Many students spent months totally disconnected from school and their peers, putting tens of thousands of students at risk of dropping out. The Fall plan eliminates normal interventions  that would help keep students connected.

We understand and support the need to keep schools physically closed. At the same time, LAUSD has a responsibility to do its best for its teachers, students and families. We also know our kids’ futures are at stake, and the harm of a denied public education will follow them for the rest of their lives.

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