Attorney General Reaches Settlement With Natomas Unified Over Student Discipline Disparities
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an agreement with the Natomas Unified School District on Oct. 2, according to the California Department of Justice. The department's Bureau of Children's Justice began investigating in January 2023, and the DOJ filed a complaint in Sacramento County Superior Court on Sept. 26 together with a proposed stipulated judgment.
Investigators found that from the 2018-19 through 2024-25 school years, Black students and students with disabilities were substantially overrepresented among students referred for discipline and more likely to receive exclusionary punishments such as out-of-school suspension or expulsion. The DOJ also found the district issued out-of-school suspensions for disruption or willful defiance, in several cases to students in kindergarten through eighth grade, in violation of state law, and released confidential student records to third parties without required parental consent. The district disputes the findings. Settlement terms are set out in the court filings.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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