Los Angeles school officials have committed $100 million a year to a controversial program for Black students, even as a federal civil-rights investigation examines whether the initiative unlawfully favors students based on race.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education approved a resolution Tuesday guaranteeing $100 million annually for the Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP) during the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years. The move protects the program from deeper reductions as the district confronts a multibillion-dollar budget crisis.
The decision comes while the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigates allegations that BSAP discriminates against non-Black students by directing resources and services according to race.
The investigation was reopened in April after the conservative education advocacy group Defending Education questioned whether LAUSD had truly eliminated race-based eligibility standards from the program, despite previously telling federal officials that it had done so.
Under the resolution, BSAP will receive $100 million in each of the next two school years. That is more than the $75 million previously proposed for 2027-28 and reverses an earlier plan to provide no funding in the following school year.
The funding decision comes as LAUSD projects budget shortfalls of $1.3 billion in 2027-28 and $3.6 billion the year after.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and senior legal fellow at Defending Education, criticized the board for preserving funding for a race-based program while cutting elsewhere.
“For a district that pleaded poverty all year, and approved a plan cutting thousands of jobs, LAUSD still managed to unearth nine figures a year for a program with a racial classification in its name,” Perry told the California Post.
She said the district’s broader financial plan would remove $500 million from schools serving the highest-need students while continuing to fund programs aimed at Black students.
Perry argued that federal civil-rights law prohibits taxpayer-funded educational programs from distributing staff, services or money according to race, regardless of the district’s intentions.
She also cited a 2023 Supreme Court decision rejecting race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, arguing that the ruling’s principles should apply to LAUSD.
Defending Education filed its initial civil-rights complaint against LAUSD in July 2023. Federal officials closed that investigation in July 2024 after the district said it had replaced race-based criteria with race-neutral standards.
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The organization later disputed whether the changes were genuine, pointing to remarks allegedly made during a hot-mic conversation in October 2024 between then-board President Jackie Goldberg and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. During the exchange, they reportedly agreed that “nothing has changed.”
Perry said Defending Education asked the Office for Civil Rights to reopen the case on March 25, 2026, and was notified on April 23 that the investigation would resume. The group also sent federal officials another letter in September urging them to continue scrutinizing the program.
“A board vote to lock in $100 million a year while under active federal investigation is not the behavior of a district that believes it has nothing to fear,” Perry said. “Either LAUSD misled the federal government or it is misleading its own community members, but both cannot be true.”
The Department of Education confirmed to the Post that its investigation remains active.
“ED’s investigation into LAUSD is ongoing and this administration will fight to ensure that no student is ever denied opportunity based on their race,” a department spokesperson said.
Supporters maintain that BSAP’s targeted approach is needed to address longstanding educational disparities and say the program’s benefits reach students throughout the district.
Tyrone Howard, a UCLA associate professor and supporter of the initiative, welcomed the board’s decision, saying BSAP had produced progress but still faced significant challenges.
“I am pleased to see that LAUSD is still committed to BSAP. The challenges affecting Black students have improved, but there is still much more work to do,” Howard told The California Post.
He rejected claims that the program discriminates against other racial groups, arguing that its professional development and school-based resources have helped students across LAUSD.
“The LAUSD is approximately 90% Students of Color, so a focus based on race is not discriminatory, but mindful of subgroups that are historically overlooked and underserved,” Howard said. “The Civil Rights investigations I think are off-based, misguided, and underlying racist because of the failure to recognize the role that racism has played in disparate experiences and outcomes.”
LAUSD Superintendent Andrés E. Chait said the district remained committed to responsible financial management while protecting educational opportunities and essential services for students.
The district did not respond to the Post’s request for comment on the federal investigation.
