OAKLAND, CA (July 8, 2014) – With each of California’s 1,000 school districts required to adopt their first Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP, as mandated by the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), The EdTrust—West and a coalition of over 30 partner organizations from across the state launch the LCAP Watch website today to create more public transparency around school district plans.

“Under LCFF, parents play an important role in deciding how their district spends state funds to serve all students, especially those who are low income, English learners, and foster youth,” said Valerie Cuevas, Interim Executive Director of The EdTrust—West, a statewide education policy, research, and advocacy organization that works to close gaps in opportunity and achievement for students of color and low-income students. “Every parent in California must have access to their district LCAP if LCFF is going to live up to its promise and full potential for our students.”

LCAP Watch serves as a public repository for LCAPs. While the site already includes hundreds of LCAPs, The EdTrust—West hopes to crowdsource the expansion of the database until all 1,000 districts are represented. Users may view existing plans or add plans, which will then be confirmed and posted by an administrator. The website also features additional resources that offer best practices for addressing a number of the state’s priority areas, including school climate and student engagement, for example.

“We encourage parents, educators, and community stakeholders to view and share LCAPs,” said Carrie Hahnel, Director of Research and Policy Analysis at The EdTrust—West. “We also urge them to engage with their local school districts to monitor and improve the plans over time as a way to ensure their schools meet the needs of all students.”

LCAP Watch is supported by a number of partner organizations from across the state that are committed to increasing public transparency of school district plans and budgets. They include: American Civil Liberties Union of California, Alliance for Children’s Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Los Angeles, Bay Area Tutoring Association, Building Blocks for Kids Richmond Collaborative, California Alliance of African American Educators (CAAAE), California Alliance for Arts Education, California State PTA, California STEM Learning Network, California Youth Connection, Californians Together, Children’s Defense Fund California, Children Now, Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (C.O.P.E.), Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO), Educators 4 Excellence, EdVoice, Families In Schools, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, For Each and Every Child, Great Oakland Public Schools Leadership Center, Healthy Richmond, League of Women Voters of California, National Center for Youth Law, Oakland Community Organizations, Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), Parent Organization Network (PON), Partnership for Children and Youth, PICO California, Public Advocates, Public Counsel, Reading and Beyond, Students for Education Reform (SFER), The Advancement Project, The EdTrust—West, and The United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

“As a supporter of LCAP Watch, we are committed to helping every parent across California get access to their district’s LCAP because we know what it means for student success,” said Oscar E. Cruz, President and CEO of Families In Schools, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles whose mission is to involve parents and communities in their children’s education to achieve lifelong success. “We know from our experience that if parents get the information they need, they get engaged and students achieve,” he concluded.

LCAP Watch is available online at: http://lcapwatch.org.

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 About The EdTrust-West
The EdTrust-West works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-k through college. We expose opportunity and achievement gaps that separate students of color and low-income students from other youth, and we identify and advocate for the strategies that will forever close those gaps.