Sacramento school district enrollment practices found unlawful. What will change
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State investigation found SCUSD enrollment gave preference to wealthier families.
- Settlement requires new oversight, advisory groups, and an enrollment chief.
- District will face at least five years of monitoring and address capacity calculations.
The Sacramento City Unified School District will reform its enrollment processes after an investigation by the state showed that the district’s practices violated state laws and discriminated against students of color, students with disabilities, English learning students and homeless students.
According to a settlement announced Friday between the district and the California Attorney General’s Office, the district’s open enrollment process allegedly gave an advantage to higher income families, creating discriminatory barriers for students from disadvantaged groups.
Efforts to level out enrollment at district schools through a process called “concapping” also disproportionately forced Black, low-income and homeless students to be subject to involuntary transfers which resulted in lower attendance rates and academic performance among those affected.
“Every student has the right to equal access to a quality public education. That starts with enrollment,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement.
The settlement agreement requires the district to make significant changes within the next six months. It includes establishing systems that better monitor district enrollment practices, the formation of community advisory groups and the creation of a new administrative position to oversee these policy changes. The district will be monitored for the next five years, at the minimum.
The district and attorney general’s office both emphasized a spirit of collaboration in reaching the settlement. District officials in a news release said the investigation’s findings were “not indicative of deliberate or widespread systemic discrimination” in SCUSD’s enrollment practices and instead reflected “small number of isolated missteps over a period of years, some of which were presented in the filing without proper context.”
“We recognize that even one enrollment process failure is too many, and represents a failure to properly support a student and their family,” said SCUSD Superintendent Lisa Allen. “We look forward to having the support and oversight of the Attorney General’s Office to ensure any enrollment barriers that may still exist for our families, particularly those who are less advantaged, are removed.”
Alleged enrollment violations by SCUSD
State law requires school districts to allow students from outside a school’s residential area to enroll if open seats are available. Proponents for open enrollment policies say that the process allows families to choose the best academic environment for their children and allows low-income families to enroll in schools that would otherwise be inaccessible due to high housing costs.
The Bureau of Children’s Justice at the California Department of Justice began investigating the district’s enrollment process in July 2024. A district spokesperson said that SCUSD has been working with the DOJ for more than a year to examine its policies, but also said that some specific concerns raised by the attorney general were addressed prior to the start of the investigation, contrary to the settlement agreement filed.
The attorney general identified multiple problems with the enrollment process, alleging that the district gave enrollment priority based on proximity to the school — including at schools without neighborhood boundaries or that had open seats for students from outside the boundary. The investigation also found that the process of determining capacity in schools was inconsistent, with no written policy on how to calculate seat availability.
Because the enrollment process operated exclusively online or at the district’s central office in south Sacramento, it created barriers for families without consistent access to the internet or cars.
These and other barriers, such as lengthy questionnaires and entrance exams required by certain desirable district schools, resulted in overrepresentation of white students and an underrepresentation of Latino, Black, Asian, English learner and socioeconomically disadvantaged students who completed and submitted applications to those schools.
The attorney general further questioned entrance exams used by Phoebe Hearst and Camellia Basic elementary schools, arguing that they do not have legitimate justification, citing research that the use of screening tools for students who have not yet been exposed to education can significantly disadvantage low-income students and create unlawful barriers to high quality schools.
The exams may also create barriers to students with disabilities. The attorney general voiced concern about accommodating students with known disabilities during the test and the performance of students without established special education plans, noting that many kids’ disabilities are not observed until they enter school.
Changes to come
The settlement demands a number of changes be implemented within the next 30 to 180 days, with monitoring to continue for at least five years.
The district is required to hire a deputy chief of schools, a new administrator who will oversee registration, open enrollment and concapping practices, ensuring compliance with state and federal law. The salary for the position starts at $161,909.
The district must also rewrite board and administrative policies related to enrollment and create written materials available to families about how to navigate registration, enrollment and concapping with clear timelines and process explanations.
To help disadvantaged students affected by school transfers, the district must identify all concapped foster and homeless students, reassess their school assignment and offer additional transportation and tutoring services.
The attorney general did not instruct the school district to get rid of entrance exams but did require the district to evaluate the tests to ensure nondiscrimination and appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities.
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 3:38 PM.
