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OUSD Catalog Promotes Charters That Exclude Special Needs Students

Published

10 years ago

December 11, 2015

The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) for the first time has included charter schools in its annual catalog of school choices for parents – advertising many charters that do not offer services for special education students and English Language Learner students.

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The new catalog is a big step toward implementing “common enrollment,” a proposal by OUSD Supt. Antwan Wilson’s administration that has not yet been approved by the board of education.

The administration has said its goal is to create opportunities for students who are underserved in Oakland public schools to move to better public or charter schools.

The proposal minimizes the distinction between district schools and charters – despite differences in curriculum, legal requirements and level of public accountability – because they are both publically funded.

“This year, for the first time, you will find individual school descriptions and application information of all OUSD public schools, including charters,” said Supt. Antwan Wilson in an open letter published in the 195-page catalog.

“With this guide, parents and caregivers can learn about any Oakland public school (public or charter) they choose and make the best decision for their families,” he said.

However, 44 of the 62 charter school programs listed in the Enrollment Options Guide say they do not offer multilingual and English learner services, and 40 say they offer no special education services.

Oddly, while the physical catalog released last week contains charter school listings that say they offer no special education services, an online version of the catalog that was on the district website this week has been revised.

Under the heading of special education services, it now says, “Contact school for details.”

By the Post’s deadline, the school district did not respond to questions about the catalog.

At least some Board of Education members are saying they had not been informed that the new options catalog was going to include charter schools.

“I didn’t even know that it was coming. As a board member, that really bothers me,” said Roseann Torres, who represents District 5 on the board.

“We were elected to do policy and direct the superintendent, not the reverse.”

Roseann Torres

“We are public schools, and by law we are supposed to serve all students. But the majority of charter schools are not there to educate all.

The catalog is produced annually by the OUSD Student Assignment Office. This year’s edition cost $78,000 to produce.

Parents and school activists who have been critical of the district’s increased support for charter schools are finding the new catalog disturbing.

According to opponents, for a charter to say they do not offer these services, they are in effect telling parents of English Language Learners and special education students they should not bother to apply to their schools.

Meanwhile the district – by promoting these charters – is giving a green light to practices that are discriminatory, potentially illegal and move toward the consolidation of a two-tier public school system, say opponents.

Jorge Lerma, a member of the board of the Latino Education Network (LEN) in Oakland and former OUSD administrator, says the new system may end up shortchanging the students it is supposed to help.

“Superficially, it seems like it is going to offer a wider menu for parents to choose from, but it ends up excluding the students who are most in need of support,” said Lerma.

“These charters don’t say we’ll work with you – we’ll help figure what your children need. They’re saying they don’t offer these service,” he said.

“Public money is supposed to serve the public,” continued Lerma. “That means taxpayers. But if you’re using tax money to create little enclaves, you’re defeating the purpose of public education.”

Dan Siegel, former school board member and a former general counsel for the district, criticized the superintendent and school board for promoting charter schools.

“It’s completely outrageous that they are doing this,” he said. “They are promoting the destruction of the public school system in the City of Oakland, and they are promoting a system of education that discriminates against English language learners—who are a big portion of children in the district, and students with special needs—who are disproportionately low-income African American students.”

While discriminatory policies of charters and the district promotion might violate the law, there are few or no cases where these practices have been challenged in court – so far, he said.

Under the state education code “admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations (of charter schools) shall not charge tuition, and shall not discriminate against any pupil.”

Ismael Armendariz, an OUSD special education teacher and a member of the teachers’ union executive board, says he was upset by the implied message sent out by the district that many of the charter schools will not accept special education students.

“This (catalog) is going out to thousands of parents and children. If I were a parent and looking at that message, I wouldn’t apply to that school. I’d skip it. It’s going to discourage them.”

He said that he had a student this year, a good student who works hard, who came from a charter school and had been encouraged to leave because the school said it did not have the resources to help him.

“I come from a community and family who weren’t not always given the best support. It’s really hurtful to me when my students don’t have access to all the opportunities other students have.”

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.