LANCASTER — Attorneys representing Antelope Valley Union High School District students and their parents, as well as Cancel the Contract Antelope Valley, asked that Antelope Valley Union High School District take immediate steps to protect the rights of Black students and students with disabilities, including stopping the use of on-campus detention, referrals to law enforcement and discontinue segregation of students with disabilities, according to a demand letter.
Last week, Disability Rights California, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Equal Justice Society and Kilpatrick Townsend emailed the nine-page letter to the District and Board members.
According to the letter, the District disproportionately disciplines Black students and students with disabilities.
“Since at least 2018, AVUHSD has subjected Black students and students with disabilities to discipline and school assignment policies and practices that disproportionately suspend, expel, assign them to alternative schools and/or lead to unnecessary contacts with law enforcement,” the letter said.
The District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Raquel Derfler, who serves as chair of Cancel the Contract Antelope Valley Education Workgroup, addressed the District’s Board of Education, at the Jan. 19 meeting.
Derfler alleged that in regard to student discipline, the District does not follow due process requirements guaranteed under the state Education Code.
“These protections include written notice and an opportunity for a conference before a student is suspended,” Derfler said. “Parents frequently report having to ask for a written notice or not receiving it for days. They also report that students are not given a chance to tell their side of the story in a pre-suspsension conference before the decision to suspend had been made.”
The letter also alleged that the District maintains a racially hostile educational environment and employs discriminatory law enforcement and security practices.
The activists filed an administrative complaint, in November, with the California Department of Education Special Education Division, Derfler said, Wednesday.
A copy of the complaint was also sent to the District.
“Our attorneys redacted the page that had the five students names because there is a legitimate fear of retaliation within the District, so five of the complainants are students,” Derfler said. “And then Cancel the Contract is also a complainant. We filed a complaint on behalf of all students with disabilities in the District.”
The group is asking the Department of Education to look at instances of discrimination within the District based on race and disability.
Kerry Agomo, a senior at Lancaster High School, said the District “failed to provide a positive and inclusive school environment and climate for its students, mainly Black and brown students.”
“One-third of our students with disabilities are put into segregated classes or schools for most of the school day, and nearly 45% of those students who are put in segregated classes are Black,” Agomo said. “These practices violate the special education laws and discriminate against students based on disability and race.”
In separate comments, Agomo also addressed the District’s disproportionate discipline of Black students and students with disabilities.
“Black students with disabilities receive more than half of the suspensions given to students with disabilities even although they barely account for a quarter of the disabled population,” Agomo said.
Cancel the Contact Antelope Valley has repeatedly advocated for the District to cancel its contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The demand letter also asks that the District provide ongoing semi-annual community forums to seek input from parents and students regarding the issues and policy changes detailed in the letter.
(1) comment
""Racist"" a word use by an individual that knows they cannot win the argument on the facts alone. The word "Racist" a favorite tool amongst Losers and Parasites....The Democrat politicians are playing the word "Racist" to the hilt (called White Guilt). I never owned slaves, also the "white" Union Soldiers that fought and died in the civil war...should be given reparations. The British ships and their crew that "attacked" the Slave ships...should be given reparations also....Also the American Indians, Irish, Chinese, Mexicans...etc etc etc. Gavin Newsom is Human Waste (IMHO) and that POS does not have a problem handing out the taxpayers money.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.