LAUSD’s charter school co-location policy violates state law, judge rules

The Los Angeles Unified School District may not categorically direct charter schools away from sharing particular school campuses, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled.

What are charter schools and what rights do they have?

Charters are exempt from many of the state laws that govern traditional public schools. Leaders of a charter school have more freedom to try new methods of teaching, select the materials they wish to use, and more easily hire (or fire) teachers, who at most charter schools are not unionized. LAUSD has charter schools that are affiliated with the district, as well as independently managed charter schools.

California voters passed Proposition 39 in 2000, requiring school districts to provide “reasonably equivalent” facilities to charter school students.

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This "co-location" policy has been an ongoing sources of tension between school districts and charter operators. Charter school advocates say LAUSD has long denied students access to space they are legally entitled to and have filed several lawsuits. Some parents and traditional public school educators say sharing their campus deprives their students of resources.

How has LAUSD tried to limit co-locations?

In February 2024, the LAUSD board approved a policy that tells district administrators to “avoid” co-locating charters on certain campuses, particularly those that:

• Provide students additional resources (community schools)
• Focus on improving outcomes for Black students (Black Student Achievement Plan, or BSAP, schools) 
• Are among the district’s 100 schools targeted for academic improvement.
• Compromise a traditional school’s capacity to enroll students from nearby neighborhoods

The California Charter Schools Association challenged the policy in court, calling it "a sweeping ban [that limits] access and restricting educational opportunity for thousands of families."

How did the court rule?

Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch agreed that the district has latitude to decide that a co-location could harm student safety or jeopardize its ability to serve neighborhood children.

But he also wrote that a blanket avoidance of several hundred schools is an overreach.

“Proposition 39 does not allow the District to categorically prioritize district schools over charter school facilities,” Goorvitch wrote in his decision. “However, as drafted, that is exactly what the policy instructs the District to do.”

CCSA celebrated the decision.

“This is a victory for all public school families and a critical affirmation of the rights of charter public school students across Los Angeles," Myrna Castrejón, president and CEO of CCSA, said in a statement. “We’re grateful the court recognized that LAUSD’s blatant attempt to exclude charter public school students from learning alongside traditional district school students in the communities they share violates California law."

What happens now?

The district has not made a decision about whether to appeal.

“Los Angeles Unified is carefully reviewing the court’s decision and evaluating all available options,” a district spokesperson said in a statement. “We remain firmly committed to fulfilling all legal obligations while prioritizing the best interests of our students and school communities.”

The number of Los Angeles Unified schools sharing space with charter schools has declined 43% in the last seven years. This coming school year, 41 LAUSD schools will house an independently run charter school on their campus.