Russlyn Ali of the U.S. Dept. of Education announces a civil rights investigation
into LAUSD. (Ruth Frantz)

The United States Department of Education will launch a civil rights investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District, examining the academic opportunity of English Learner (EL) students.  The department announced the decision Wednesday, two days after Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced plans to step up enforcement of civil rights laws.

The department, which will begin a series of investigations across the country, said it chose the Los Angeles district because its EL students make up 11 percent of the nation's total English Learner students, but are the lowest performing. Only 3 percent of EL students in the LAUSD are math and English proficient.

"There was no hesitancy in welcoming this kind of investigation," Superintendent Ramon Cortines said at the news conference. "I believe the investigation will find best practices that need to be spread throughout the school district. I also believe we are not consistent across the district."

The review will start with districts one and six, expanding as necessary to other districts within Los Angeles. The review will evaluate how the EL program is set up and its effectiveness, along with making sure the school district is communicating effectively with parents of EL students.

"I want to make it clear that at this time, we have reached no conclusion as to whether any violations of federal law exist," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Dept. of Education Russlyn Ali said. "If we find civil rights violations, I am confident that Superintendent [Cortines] is committed to working with the U.S. Department of Education to put an end to those violations promptly."

Ali said that the department's "sense of urgency couldn't be greater," but she was vague on any time line for the investigation adding that they want to be "thoughtful, responsible and want to go deep into our investigation and analysis."

Cortines stressed he looks forward to ongoing reports so he can work on issues as soon as possible.

The investigation starts next week with interviews and data analysis by members from the U.S. Department of Education.