LAUSD Breakup Bill Will Be Debated in Senate Today : Legislation: Measure would make it easier for residents to vote to split the district. Opponents say it’s unconstitutional.

The UC Regents’ affirmative action debate preempted another hot clash Thursday as state senators scheduled to take up a Los Angeles school system breakup bill traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend the university hearing.

Their absence postponed a potentially contentious tussle over a bill by Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) making it easier for voters to someday decide whether to split up the huge Los Angeles Unified School District.

For decades, disenchanted parents have sought such a measure to help long-stymied efforts to dismantle the embattled district, which they view as too big to do an adequate job in the classroom.

Legislators will likely take up the measure today when the Senate reconvenes.

Joining other state lawmakers making presentations to the regents was state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), the primary Senate advocate for the Boland bill. Hayden urged the regents to examine the “downsizing” of higher education in California, which has seen enrollment drop as fees have risen.

Hayden is expected to lead the Senate floor charge for the Boland bill today amid opposing arguments that the legislation is unconstitutional because it singles out LAUSD.

The bill lowers the threshold for gathering petition signatures to qualify the breakup issue on the ballot. It also wipes out the school board’s power to veto a reorganization proposal.

School district attorneys contend that the legislation, AB 107, is ripe for a constitutional challenge because it treats LAUSD differently than other school systems. Supporters of the bill, however, say the Education Code already contains plenty of laws targeting the large, urban district.

One of the bill’s chief Senate opponents is Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), a staunch critic of suburban efforts to bail out of the district. Watson contends that splitting up the school system will leave its urban core with fewer resources.

Separate legislation by Hayden seeks to ensure that all districts comply with court-ordered protections guaranteeing funding and racial equities in public schools.

That bill, SB 699, is awaiting a vote by the full Assembly and is linked to the Boland bill. Neither will go into effect if the other fails to pass the Legislature.