Los Angeles Parents Reach Historic Settlement with L.A. Unified School District in Education Equity Lawsuit

Los Angeles parents, supported pro bono by Kirkland & Ellis, secure unprecedented high-dose tutoring for over 100,000 eligible LAUSD students

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of parents and guardians of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students in low-income populations and disadvantaged communities, represented on a pro bono basis by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, have reached a landmark legal settlement that provides the most sweeping set of prospective remedial reforms to advance student learning in the U.S.

This settlement, which is one of the largest education class action settlements in history, will benefit hundreds of thousands of LAUSD students and deliver critical resources and supports to the district's most vulnerable students—including access to millions of hours of high-dose tutoring.

The plaintiffs, who were also supported and organized by Innovate Public Schools and Parent Revolution, filed this class action in September 2020. They alleged that LAUSD, California's largest school district and the second largest school district in the country, adopted and implemented distance learning policies during COVID-19 school closures that violated students' constitutional and statutory rights. They asserted claims for adopting distance learning policies that both discriminated against students on the basis of race and wealth (intra-district discrimination) and fell fundamentally below prevailing statewide standards (inter-district discrimination). The plaintiffs asked the court to order LAUSD to adopt adequate distance learning policies during the remainder of COVID-19 school closures and implement remedial programs that were endorsed by industry experts and designed to reverse student learning loss and truancy trends—including high-dose tutoring, mandatory assessments, mandatory teacher training, and enhanced student and family outreach measures to combat chronic absenteeism.

Over the course of five years, the plaintiffs and their counsel worked diligently to protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of students. Together they overcame numerous legal challenges, including an outright dismissal of their case in August 2021 by the Superior Court of California when schools reopened. The plaintiffs appealed and, in September 2023, the California Court of Appeal, in a published decision, reinstated plaintiffs' claims and request for the programmatic reforms now reflected in the settlement. This consequential ruling affirmed California students' rights to nondiscriminatory policies and basic educational equality.

The settlement, which was filed today with the Superior Court of California and is still subject to court approval, provides for significant programmatic reforms over the next three school years (including the 2025–26 school year). Notably, it ensures that over 100,000 of the district's most vulnerable students will have access to no fewer than 45 hours of high-dose tutoring per year (defined in the settlement as small group or one-on-one tutoring, aligned with the student's classroom learnings, held at least three times per week and for 30 minutes per session). That amounts to over 10 million hours of guaranteed high-dose tutoring over the next three school years. The plaintiffs and their counsel are working with local organizations to conduct outreach to families about this unprecedented influx of high-dose tutoring hours so that their children can take full advantage and achieve their academic potential.

The settlement requires LAUSD to implement other programmatic reforms over the next three school years, including:

• Targeted, evidenced-based interventions in small group settings (six students or fewer) after school, including numeracy and literacy supports, that will guarantee additional academic supports for students beyond the high-dose tutoring mentioned above.
• Administration of math and English Language Arts assessments three times per year, which provide an important performance metric beyond classroom grades to determine whether students need additional tutoring or other academic support.
• Mandatory, evidence-based teacher training in math, English Language Arts, and MTSS (Multi-Tiered System Supports), which ensures teachers have the proper training in key subject areas.
• Enhanced student and family outreach measures to re-enroll/re-engage chronically absent students.
• Summer school programs continuing through the summer of 2028.
• More robust, transparent and disaggregated public reporting of tutoring, grades, assessment and absenteeism data.
• Annual evaluation of and reporting on the effectiveness of tutoring programs.

Eligibility for these programs includes all grade K–12 students who were enrolled with LAUSD during the 2019–20 and/or 2020–21 school years and who are currently enrolled with LAUSD.

"For nearly five years, we have fought tirelessly on behalf of LAUSD students and their families to enforce students' constitutional right to basic educational equality," said Edward Hillenbrand, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs pro bono. "We are thrilled that LAUSD has committed to providing the critical support and resources students need to recover and achieve their full academic potential."

"On behalf of our clients, we appreciate LAUSD's willingness to agree to these important educational enhancements to improve student outcomes," added Mark Holscher, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs pro bono.

Paul Reville, Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Education Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, commented: "The provision of evidence-based, high-dose tutoring will be a tremendous boost to LA's most disadvantaged students."

"Today, thanks to the courage of parents and the persistence of our partners, LAUSD is committing to reforms that will deliver millions of hours of high-dose tutoring, targeted supports and accountability measures that students deserve. Innovate Public Schools is proud to be part of this landmark settlement, which is a victory for families, students and the fundamental right to an equal education. Innovate will not stop organizing families and parents until every child has the opportunity to thrive. We also are grateful for the significant time, effort and pro bono legal resources Kirkland & Ellis devoted to this case," said Michelle Vilchez, CEO, Innovate Public Schools.

"My participation in this lawsuit was never about personal gain—it was about securing the resources all LAUSD children need to recover from the pandemic and succeed in school and beyond. After four years of perseverance, we've reached an important milestone, though it's bittersweet because implementation will determine whether these hard-fought commitments truly benefit students," said Judith Larson, one of the plaintiffs and a parent to an LAUSD student.

"After all the time, effort and years invested in this lawsuit, this victory feels like a step in the right direction," said Maritza Gonzalez, one of the plaintiffs and parent to an LAUSD student. "From the start, it was about securing the support kids need to thrive academically. While it comes too late for my eldest son, now in college, I'm relieved to know that my daughter, just beginning high school, will have access to the tutoring she needs to succeed and prepare for college in the years ahead."

While the settlement agreement remains subject to court approval, LAUSD's implementation of these programmatic reforms already is underway. Students and families can reach out to LAUSD to learn more about available tutoring opportunities and eligibility.

Mark C. Holscher, Sierra Elizabeth and Edward Hillenbrand of Kirkland & Ellis LLP are counsel to the plaintiffs.

About Kirkland & Ellis

With a global platform of approximately 4,000 lawyers in 22 cities across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Kirkland & Ellis provides elite legal advice and a relentless commitment to client service. Kirkland is a market-leader in each of its core practice areas, including private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. The Firm is committed to providing legal services without charge to those who cannot afford counsel, with the goals of improving lives, bettering communities and deepening our attorneys' professional experience. In 2024, Kirkland devoted more than 170,000 hours to pro bono matters. To learn more, please visit www.kirkland.com.

SOURCE Kirkland & Ellis LLP