An Epic Fail For Sac Unified

By Sterling Davies | OBSERVER Staff Writer The Sacramento County Grand Jury has released a report addressing educational gaps within the Sacramento County Unified School District, claiming the district deserves “an ‘F’ grade” for not meeting the needs of its students “with learning, physical, and behavioral disabilities.” The June 17 report comes on the heels of numerous warnings, recommendations, and lawsuits surrounding the district’s failure to provide adequate special education resources. These incidents, many of which are referenced in the report, have accumulated over the past seven years. While this is a pressing concern for all 7,000 of the district’s special education students, this issue disproportionately affects the SCUSD’s Black students. Since 2021, the California Department of Education has found that SCUSD’s special education program has a disproportionate number of students of color. While the department has begun monitoring the district, no changes have been made thus far, meaning that Black students in special education programs face greater consequences. The SCUSD responded to the report in a press release stating it is actively engaged in “correcting systems that contribute to a disproportionately high number of students in general and Black and African American students, in particular, identified as having disabilities.”...