Overview
(August 12, 2024) – Steptoe LLP, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, helped parents in California reach a settlement with the California State Board of Education. The State of California will now be required to strengthen its monitoring and oversight of school districts to prevent systemic discrimination against Black students, children with disabilities and English learners. The state must also review individual student files to ensure students are treated fairly and have access to supportive learning environments.
The matter arose in 2021, when parents and a teacher filed a lawsuit, Mark S. v. California, in Contra Costa County Superior Court against Pittsburg Unified and the California State Board of Education. It specifically called out state education officials for being derelict in their responsibilities for overseeing the local school district.
The Steptoe team included associates Nicolena Farias-Eisner, Geoffrey Warner, Destinae Demery, Danika Duffy, Jefferson Klocke, and Emma Staats, paralegal Magda Wielkopolska, practice support analyst Danny Huerta, and pre-law fellow Andrew Ortiz Calderon.
Visit the ACLU of Southern California website for more information.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
