VICTORY! LA Unified Board Members Pass the “Equity is Justice Resolution 2021” with a 6-1 Vote
Victory! On May 11, 2021, Los Angeles Unified School District (LA Unified) Board members voted affirmatively 6-1 to distribute in the 2021-22 academic year an additional $700 million to schools using the Student Equity Needs Index (SENI). The SENI is a formula used to inform the allocation of funds so that LA Unified can efficiently address the achievement gap. Passage of Board Member Monica Garcia’s “Equity is Justice 2021” Resolution means all LA Unified students across the district will benefit from these dollars, and LA’s high- and highest-need schools will have increased access to the essential resources to level the academic playing field.
In the current school year, 2020-21, the district invested only $282 million through SENI despite starting with a budget of approximately $9 billion. Approval of $700 million in additional funding through SENI means that the Board has more than doubled SENI allocations in one budget season, and schools serving communities like Watts, Boyle Heights, and South LA will be gaining hundreds of thousands — or millions — of additional dollars effective immediately. These funds will provide critical support for under-resourced schools, including psychiatric social workers, intervention coordinators, attendance counselors, planning time for teachers, and other vital interventions which school communities can use to respond to the specific needs of individual schools. It is especially gratifying to see these funds approved now so that Principals have the time they need to implement these critical services and supports as schools are reopening and we immediately strive to combat structural inequities exacerbated by COVID-19.