Why L.A.’s ban on homeless encampments near schools, day care has become heated election issue
A federal judge has ordered the Los Angeles Board of Education to permit homeless adults to sleep in parks next to school playgrounds, a decision that could cost the district thousands of dollars in damages.
On Dec. 16, a federal judge ordered the L.A. Unified School District to allow homeless adults to sleep in parks next to school playgrounds as part of a larger proposal to allow people living off the streets to live in homeless shelters on school property. A second court case is challenging the legality of the school board’s actions.
On Monday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the district from going forward.
“I think parents are entitled to a voice in how their child’s learning is being affected by a potentially unsafe situation that’s happening outside of the classroom at a time of year when your children are most vulnerable to danger,” said David H. Johnson, chief of the school safety unit for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. “How parents feel about that and that’s going to be the determining factor.”
L.A. Unified has until the end of the month to decide on whether to take the court’s order to heart. The district has said that it will consider other ways to make school facilities safer.
“We’re going to study this and go from there,” said Los Angeles Board of Education member Kathryn S. Howell, whose district includes the area where the injunction is being sought. “We will decide what is feasible and what is not effective and we are going to be very thoughtful in that process.”
The district’s response to the injunction has left some concerned about the district’s willingness to consider more options.
“It has made me worry about what the district will do next,” said Paul Bower, former Los Angeles City Council member and a member of the ACLU. “I am worried that if they do in fact come back, they will be doing so under the cover of darkness and that they will not come back for a long time.”
Howell said the injunction is still in effect, but that the district is exploring other ways to ensure that school officials are responsive to the needs of schoolchildren.
The district’s lawsuit claims the district cannot allow homeless people
