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Graphic by Diallo Mclinn

"bare minimum necessities"

The ACLU lodges lawsuit against The State of California for unjust distribution of wealth in California school districts.

By Kaponda

The zephyr bored through the thin layer of protective shelter and pelted the young lad as his eyes opened to the dawn of another school day. It carried the noxious elements of the naval shipyard to woo the uncorrupt lungs of the middle school senior. Yet, Jimmy has known for quite awhile that his generation has had to endure the brunt of unfulfilled commitments by virtually every institution of America.

The sparse surroundings of Jimmy's bedroom bounced off his eyes through the mirror, as he prepared to encounter another struggle at Luther Burbank Middle School. In an effort not to frustrate his schoolmaster, Jimmy had begun his journey at the customary time. Looking at the abutting structures from the window, Jimmy watched as his house drowned in the distance, as the bus accelerated past the density of drab houses. He mused over whether anyone within that enclave of southern migrants -- from which he, too, is a proud product ñ- has ever enjoyed anything other than substandard living conditions since their arrival to the Bayview-Hunters Point District at the height of World War II.

As he expectorated the noxious residuals from the wind that had earlier swirled around his residential community, Jimmy peered at a rodent, which bolted off into a separate entrance of the Luther Burbank Middle School. His eyes made a futile search of the halls for anything that had not been riddled by decay. The first battle for Jimmy will be to find a seat after he enters his classroom, as there are not enough to accommodate each student. There will not be a need for him to check his coat because it will help insulate him from the extremely cold classroom due to the broken heating system. Jimmy has always focused on completing his studies and passing his advanced placement examination to continue his education at a competitive university.

The substandard learning and living conditions to which Jimmy is exposed may pose a threat to his plans to further his education. For example, the curricula offered at schools such as Luther Burbank do not adequately prepare Jimmy for advanced placement examinations. In addition, his problems are compounded by a sense of inferiority, which affects the motivation of a child to learn. These wretched conditions were not hatched over night. Rather, they are the result of years of Federal and State neglect. Furthermore, these substandard learning conditions -- in which Jimmy must struggle to realize his hopes ñ violate the laws of California, which require the State to ensure the delivery of basic educational opportunities for every child in California and vest the State with ultimate responsibility for the Stateís public elementary and secondary school system.

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Neglect by the State of California to improve substandard learning conditions in schools for people of color can be traced as far back as the early 1950ís, when the majority of schools for people of color were far inferior to the schools of their white counterparts. The neglect of the State of California to provide equal access to public education regardless of race, color or national origin is rooted in the May 17, 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, unanimous decision, read by Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme Court.

In California, schools in economically disadvantaged communities were underserved so severely that on May 17, 2000, the 46th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, civil rights groups and attorneys in California, coordinated by the American Civil Liberties Union, lodged a historic class-action lawsuit on behalf of students in 18 schools. The lawsuit charges that California has failed to provide the "bare minimum necessities" required for an education. According to the Complaint, the state of California has allegedly "...reneged on its constitutional guarantee to provide all students with at least the bare essentials necessary for an education...."

The indictment of gross negligence underscores the reason that supports the probability that Jimmy will never achieve an education comparable to that of his white counterpart. Furthermore, people of color in schools throughout California have been subjected to the following conditions as part of their everyday educational experience, according to the Complaint:

• Lack of Materials and Basic Resources;
• Inadequate Instruction; and
• Massive Overcrowding.

California has recently adopted a system of statewide educational standards. It entails a criterion that must be satisfied by each student before being promoted to the next rung of learning. However, ìofficials of the state of California charged with carrying out educational obligations have failed to develop or implement appropriate procedures to identify and correct the substandard conditions at the schools attended by Plaintiffs,î according to the Complaint.

Furthermore, according to the class-action lawsuit lodged by the ACLU, ìAlthough the State has established academic standards that students must meet, the State has failed to meet its responsibility to ensure that schools provide teachers who are adequately trained to prepare students to satisfy those standards, has failed to provide sufficient materials to enable students to have a reasonable chance to pass tests that measure their performance, and has failed to provide facilities in which students can safely learn the materials they need to meet the State-mandated standards. In other words, the State has established a system for education but has abdicated its responsibility to oversee and superintend that system to ensure it functions.

Jimmy was not born during the decision of Brown v. Board of Education by the Supreme Court. However, the Board of Education of California continues to preclude him from any hope of attaining to the same educational level of equality and justice as his white counterpart. Through sheer determination, Jimmy may be one of the few among people of color who succeed in passing the Advanced Placement examination by rising beyond the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of inadequate instructions, massive school overcrowding, too few textbooks, no access to libraries, as few as 13 percent of teachers with full teaching credentials, chronically unfilled teacher vacancies, and substandard living conditions.

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