Schools Breakup Must Follow Law

Advocates of breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District do not have to follow any specific legal guidelines but their plans must abide by federal civil rights laws barring racial segregation in schools, the U. S. Justice Department has concluded.

The federal opinion came in response to a March letter from freshman Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who asked what steps breakup promoters had to take to comply with federal civil rights statutes. McKeon, who represents the northern San Fernando Valley, favors a breakup.

State Sen. David Roberti (D-Van Nuys) introduced legislation in February to fragment the district into at least seven smaller systems. But his bill has drawn criticism from civil rights groups contending that a breakup will result in segregated schools. The NAACP has pledged to challenge any attempt at a breakup in court.

In an April 22 letter to McKeon, Acting Assistant Atty. Gen. M. Faith Burton said any plan to fragment the massive school system must observe the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law prohibits local school officials from discriminating against students on the basis of race, national origin or color.

But Burton added that there are “no readily available guidelines to follow in establishing separate school districts.” She noted that since no specific breakup plan has been proposed yet, the Justice Department could only offer a few general comments on the need to observe civil rights statutes and court rulings.

Armando Azarloza, McKeon’s top local aide, said the congressman views the Justice Department letter as a “green light to proceed” for breakup advocates.

“Clearly, this indicates that a breakup is legal if we stay within the guidelines of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” he said.

But a lawyer representing minority parents opposed to the proposed split read the letter differently.

“That’s very cautionary language. They’re telling the state that they have to abide by the Constitution, which they are trying to get around. . . . It’s letting this state know they can’t act outside the law,” said Carol Smith, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Azarloza said McKeon sought a Justice Department opinion after questions were raised about what federal legal obstacles there might be to a breakup plan.

But Marc Litchman, a Democratic political consultant familiar with the Valley, said that McKeon was motivated by politics. McKeon, he said, simply was trying to jump on the pro-breakup bandwagon that he sees developing among many of his constituents.

“It’s a minor-league stunt,” said Litchman, adding that “anyone with any knowledge of the federal government and how it works knows” that a breakup would have to abide by the Civil Rights Act and relevant court decisions.

Azarloza denied that McKeon acted for political reasons. He said that the Justice Department letter “ends Buck’s involvement” in the breakup matter, which he said must be decided by local and state officials.