A long-standing Los Angeles school policy created decades ago under court-ordered desegregation is now under fire in federal court, with a conservative group alleging it discriminates against white students.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the 1776 Project Foundation, challenges a Los Angeles Unified School District policy dating to the 1970s that provides smaller classes and other advantages to schools deemed "racially isolated minority" campuses.
Those schools are defined as having student populations that are more than 70% nonwhite.
Plaintiffs argue the policy — originally intended to address segregation — now penalizes students who attend schools with higher numbers of white students by denying them equal resources and opportunities.
"This is the most blatant example of racial discrimination by a major school district in this country," Ryan James Girdusky, founder of the 1776 Project Foundation, told The New York Times.
Under the policy, more than 600 schools in the district qualify for benefits such as reduced student-to-teacher ratios — capped at 25-to-1 — while fewer than 100 schools do not qualify and may have ratios as high as 34-to-1, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that students in nonqualifying schools are subjected to "inferior treatment and calculated disadvantages" based solely on racial composition, violating equal protection principles.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials told the Times they are reviewing the lawsuit but declined further comment, saying the district remains "committed to ensuring all students have meaningful access to services and enriching educational opportunities."
The case comes amid a shifting legal and political landscape after recent Supreme Court rulings and renewed scrutiny of race-based policies under President Donald Trump.
The administration has signaled a greater willingness to investigate claims of discrimination against white students, moving away from policies that explicitly use race as a factor.
The Los Angeles policy originated from a 1963 desegregation lawsuit and a series of court-ordered remedies that included mandatory busing and targeted support for minority-heavy schools. Mandatory busing ended in the early 1980s, but the added benefits for "racially isolated" schools remained.
Today, the district's student population is more than 70% Hispanic, with about 7% Black, 3% Asian, and roughly 10% non-Hispanic white students. As a result, the vast majority of schools qualify for the race-based benefits.
The 1776 Project Foundation argues that the policy has become outdated and harmful.
"We don't think the court order is relevant anymore," Aiden Buzzetti, the foundation's president, told the Times. "It is currently inflicting present-day harms."
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