#AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal
The LAUSD Steps Up During A Crisis
The COVID-19 crisis shines a spotlight on how public schools serve their communities while some charter schools leave them behind.
-LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner
In March, as administrators at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) prepared to close schools in response to the COVID-19 crisis, they made sure that students were sent home with two weeks of lesson plans. However, they knew that they had much more to worry about, especially if the shutdown was extended indefinitely. Most importantly, arrangements had to be made for the 405,000 students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch and depend on the district to alleviate food insecurity.
The initial solution to this problem involved opening 40 family resource centers on school sites throughout the district. These would have provided a supervised place for children “to have a warm meal, engage with their peers, and pursue their different studies.” These plans fell apart quickly as conditions surrounding the…
