In Search of Equity for English Learners: A Review of the 2021-2024 Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs)

Our latest report In Search of Equity for English Learners seeks to answer the following question: To what degree did districts with high percentages and high numbers of EL address the needs of the diverse English learners in their LCAPs? The report gives an analysis of LCAPs from 26 public school districts that serve either high percentages or high numbers of ELs and signals the need for targeted support for the diverse student group. This brief also presents findings and recommendations from the report for the state, county offices of education, and local school districts with a call to action to modify the current accountability system to be responsive and transparent to meet the academic and language needs of English learners. These findings reveal that nine years into the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), seven years of LCAP implementation, and two years after the exacerbation of systemic inequities by the devastating effects of the pandemic, the search for equity continues to mirror the search for “a needle in a haystack”.