CA DOJ complaint details harms particularly on students with disabilities and English learners.
INGLEWOOD, CA — The ACLU of Southern California and the Inglewood Teachers Association (ITA) President submitted a formal complaint today urging California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate Inglewood Unified School District’s (IUSD) sweeping school closures and state receivership harms. The complaint contends that years of neglect, mismanagement, and unilateral decision-making by unelected state and county administrators have violated the civil rights of Inglewood students and families, particularly those with disabilities and English Learners.
Between 2018 and 2025, nearly half of IUSD schools were closed under state-imposed leadership by the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). The closures and cuts were carried out with limited transparency or community input, despite clear legal requirements under California law.
“Inglewood students and families have experienced an extraordinary scale of disruption not seen in other districts,” said Dr. Amir Whitaker, senior policy counsel at ACLU SoCal. “The district has cycled through nine state-appointed administrators since 2013. We’re urging the California attorney general to investigate this prolonged neglect and ensure accountability.”
The complaint alleges that the California Department of Education and the LACOE have failed to fulfill legal obligations under the California Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA), and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also highlights the lack of compliance with the California Attorney General’s own 2023 guidance on school closures, including the requirement for equity impact analyses and deep community engagement.
“For over a decade, students and families in Inglewood have endured state mismanagement and broken promises that have exacerbated decreases in enrollment and school closures,” said John Hughes, president of the Inglewood Teachers Association (ITA) and a parent. “ The procrastination, indifference, and ignoring of basic fundamental educational foundations can no longer be withstood. Our students’ rights to a free and appropriate public education must be safeguarded. There is academic, psychological, and now physical harm from safety issues, and our children deserve better.”
Under the attorney general’s 2023 guidance, school districts must identify and evaluate the specific and disproportionate impact school closures may have on students with disabilities. To the contrary, the district closed schools serving the most students with disabilities.
- Morningside High School, the school serving the most students with disabilities in the district (23%), was closed in 2025. Students were sent to Inglewood High School where a significant increase in behavioral issues and violence have resulted from the merger.
- Hudnall Elementary served the highest percentage of students with disabilities of all elementary schools in the district (18%) when it was ordered closed in 2025.
English learners were also disproportionately impacted by school closures in violation of state and federal law. Worthington Elementary served 47% English Learners, the highest in the district at the time of its closure in 2023. Hudnall Elementary served 39% English Learners, the highest in the district at the time of its closure in 2025.
The complaint draws heavily from focus groups, surveys, and research in the 2025 IUSD Report Card published in November by the Inglewood Education Equity Coalition and ACLU SoCal. Impacted families shared stories of trauma, dislocation, and disenfranchisement.
- “We’re being pushed out twice — from our homes and from our schools,” said one parent, referring to gentrification and school closures in the wake of SoFi Stadium development.
- “That school was our community. When it closed, it felt like they erased part of our history,” another said about the shuttering of Warren Lane Elementary.
- “We asked for a safety plan — nothing happened,” said one mother after her child was involved in fights at a consolidated campus following the Morningside High School closure.
Under state-appointed leadership, IUSD has the highest teacher-to-student ratios in the county (33-to-1 in IUSD vs. 25-to-1 across LA County). IUSD also had the highest chronic absenteeism rate in LA County in 2023-24 with 43% students chronically absent. This was twice the state and county averages. Rates like this cost the district $15-20 million in funding annually that could be used to serve students or keep schools open.
The complaint calls on the Attorney General’s Bureau of Children’s Justice to:
- Launch a civil rights investigation into IUSD’s school closures and state oversight.
- Impose a moratorium on further closures and require the reopening of closed schools.
- Assess harm to students with disabilities and English Learners.
- Take steps to restore local control and ensure compliance with state law.
Inglewood has been under state receivership since 2012, with its elected school board stripped of power. The complaint describes this prolonged receivership as a civil rights issue disenfranchising a majority-Black and Latinx community for over a decade without a clear exit plan.
“We can’t even vote out the person making decisions,” said one parent. “How is that fair to our kids?”