Education News in Brief

Class Action Accuses L.A. County of Failing to Provide Lessons at Jail

By Mary Ann Zehr — January 19, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Southern California have filed a class action in federal court charging that Los Angeles County doesn’t provide youths in the county’s largest probation facility with an adequate education.

The lawsuit, filed last week in a U.S. district court in Los Angeles, contends that the Challenger Memorial Youth Center, operated by the county’s probation department, violates both California law and the U.S. Constitution by depriving youths of an appropriate education.

The action claims that students are not systematically screened for reading problems and staff aren’t trained to provide literacy interventions that are based on research. Students who are functionally illiterate are routinely awarded credits, it charges. Among other complaints in the lawsuit are that teachers frequently show up late, don’t teach to academic content standards, and refuse to grade assignments by students. The lawsuit contends that students are often removed from class to perform tasks on the grounds of the facility, such as painting, housekeeping, or landscaping.

A version of this article appeared in the January 20, 2010 edition of Education Week as Class Action Accuses L.A. County of Failing to Provide Lessons at Jail

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read