The Los Angeles Unified School District board narrowly adopted a policy to limit which of the school district’s campuses can be shared for use by charter schools — an arrangement called “co-locating” — on Tuesday, March 19. The controversial decision to prevent charter schools from using roughly 200 district buildings was first approved by the board in February, but charter school advocates said the February meeting violated the state Brown Act open meeting law.
In a 4-3 vote on Tuesday, the board again approved the policy to prevent charter schools from sharing the same campuses as LAUSD schools that serve some of the district’s most vulnerable students. They include campuses that are the lowest performing, or that have the highest concentration of Black students, or “community schools” that serve many low-income families.
Under the co-location policy, LAUSD will still have to offer district space to charter schools — which is required by state law — but according to the district roughly 200 of the district’s 770 school buildings are now off limits. Earlier this school year, the district reported that there were 52 co-locations, 39 of which are on high-need campuses.
The policy will take effect with the 2025-26 school year and will apply to new charter schools that ask for space on district campuses.
Outgoing Board President Jackie Goldberg said the re-vote was done in “an abundance of caution” to follow the Brown Act, which ensures the public’s right to attend and participate in local government meetings in California. This, after charter school advocates pointed out that one board member’s camera was off during the February discussion and vote, among other concerns.
“We did not realize we needed to take those steps, and we did not do them,” Goldberg said of the Brown Act issue. “Rather than decide to have a fight in court over it, we decided to just do (the vote) again.”
The March 19 vote was split, with school board members George McKenna, Rocío Rivas and Scott Schmerelson voting along with Goldberg to adopt the new policy. Board members Nick Melvoin, Kelly Gonez and Tanya Ortiz Franklin voted against it. All board members voted the same as they did in the February vote.
Existing charter schools already co-located on the designated campuses won’t automatically be kicked out. But the new policy will apply if there’s a change to their current situation — including if a charter school requests space to accommodate more students or more grade levels.
Rivas, who along with Goldberg sponsored the resolution calling for the new policy, said in the March 19 meeting, “We’ve heard loud and clear from our communities of color that this policy is the right direction. This policy ensures … that programs crucial to our most vulnerable students are not further burdened by co-location disruptions. “
But charter school advocates said this policy hurts families’ ability to choose and access charter schools. “I believe in public education and I believe in school choice, in parents being able to make their own choices,” said Hugo Hernandez, a charter school parent and volunteer, in an interview. “I’m very committed to school choice.”
Advocates of charter schools also say they could end up being placed outside the neighborhood where many of their students live — or have their schools broken up into multiple sites.
Those who support the board’s policy say it’s unfair to ask schools that already serve the most vulnerable students to also share buildings, playgrounds, cafeterias or other campus spaces. They say co-location places more burdens on administrators to coordinate schedules and compromises the quality of school programs.
In response to the several charter school advocates who provided public comment at the meeting, Rivas said, “We will not be swayed by lobbyists who prioritize profits over the well being of our students.”
Ricardo Soto, chief advocacy officer and general counsel for the California Charter Schools Association, said in an interview after the original February vote that CCSA believes the policy violates Proposition 39, which requires California school districts to provide “reasonably equivalent” facilities to charter schools that serve students who would otherwise attend a district school.
Board member Rivas has previously said the district’s new policy was legally vetted to ensure compliance with state laws.
But Jass Stewart, chief of strategy and innovation at the charter school network Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, said, “This policy is so harmful to our community. This proposal is in stark contradiction with LAUSD’s own mission and vision.”
Goldberg said she is committed to the new policy, saying of the vote on Tuesday, “Those of us supporting this believe that it is in the best interest of our students, that have a co-location on a campus, (but) where it does not provide an additional problem or stress for people who are already struggling to raise the achievement levels of their students.”
Linh Tat contributed to this report.
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