Overview
- DOJ filed a motion to intervene in a federal case challenging LAUSD’s PHBAO system and would become a party if the court grants the request.
- The government’s filing says PHBAO schools receive extra resources, including roughly 5.5 fewer students per teacher, two required parent‑teacher conferences, and priority points in magnet admissions.
- DOJ describes the program as separating residents into an “Anglo” category and everyone else and treating attendance at mostly nonwhite schools as a disadvantage comparable to overcrowding.
- About 90% of district schools carry the PHBAO designation, which the filings say is based on resident‑student demographics rooted in decades‑old desegregation remedies.
- The 1776 Project Foundation’s January suit seeks a permanent injunction under the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, and California’s Proposition 209, while LAUSD declined to discuss specifics citing pending litigation.