Sounds as if He’s Doing His Job

It was predictable that lawsuits would be filed to challenge the voter-approved Proposition 187, the measure designed to bar many services to illegal immigrants. It was also predictable that some of the measure’s supporters would be as eager for the court battles as the opponents. But eight challenge lawsuits have been filed so far in federal and state courts. That’s a lot.

Does the Los Angeles Unified School District’s participation in a state court challenge amount to such an unnecessary piling on that it is basically a misuse of local tax dollars? Does it warrant a recall election effort against school board President Mark Slavkin? The answer, on both counts, is probably no.

Slavkin and the school district make the point that city schools have a huge financialinterest in the 187 situation. Proposition 187 requires schools to report suspected illegal immigrants. The courts must determine whether that violates the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which generally prohibits schools that receive federal funds from disclosing information in student records without parental consent. At stake, Slavkin says, is $628 million in federal funds. The legal action, called a complaint, also cites the California Supreme Court decision in Butt vs. California, which held that there is a fundamental right to a public education.

Indeed, from Slavkin’s perspective it can be argued that it would have been irresponsible for the state’s largest school district to not have sought immediate legal clarification on what parts of Proposition 187 would violate federal and state law and thus jeopardize funding. That does not sound to us like a misuse of local tax dollars, or like reasonable grounds to recall Slavkin. Supporters of 187 need to be reasonable and recognize that Slavkin is not trying to undermine the will of the 59% who voted for it. He is just trying to do his job.