California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a letter to the Oakland Unified School District stated that the — now-rescinded — decision to close several schools would have disproportionately affected Black and low-income students.
On Feb. 8, 2022 , the school board decided to close several schools and truncate grades 6-8 of Hillcrest Elementary and La Escuelita Elementary.
The following schools would have been shuttered.
- Parker Elementary
- Brookfield Elementary
- Carl B. Munck Elementary
- Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy
- Grass Valley Elementary
- Horace Mann Elementary
- Community Day School
A slew of protests and even a hunger-strike surrounded the decision, and it was eventually rescinded on Jan. 11, 2023 . According to Bonta’s letter, if the closures proceeded, it would have “disproportionately impacted Black and low-income elementary students, as well as high-need students with disabilities.”
Now, Bonta states, that even though OUSD is meeting the minimum requirements to make sure any closures do not maintain school segregation but alleviate it, it could again make a decision that “mirrors” the impacts of its original decision.