District settles with parents in materials lawsuit

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) has settled a lawsuit filed by two SMMUSD families who claim they were wrongfully required to pay certain fees, violating both the California Education Code and California Constitution. California law prohibits school districts from requiring students to pay fees, deposits or any other charges not specifically authorized by the law. According to SMMUSD Community and Public Relations Officer Gail Pinsker, the only fees that are legally able to be charged in California are for transportation and field trips.  In 2017, Attorney Kevin Shenkman filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of two parents, Vivian Mahl and Gina de Baca, claiming that SMMUSD required students to pay for supplies, in violation of state law.   SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati released a statement on Aug. 19, 2019 announcing a settlement with the plaintiffs. The SMMUSD Board of Education had voted to settle the lawsuit in order to minimize financial and operational costs to the district but maintaining that the district has complied with the law. “From the onset, we contested the allegations against the district, and continue to contest them. We have a board policy and procedure for a parent to file a complaint if they believe they have been charged a fee, deposit or other charges inappropriately. Our policy and procedures are in accordance with state law,” the press release said. Preliminary approval of the settlement was issued by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Honorable Elihu M. Berles on Sept. 9. 2019.  According to the settlement, the named plaintiff’s counsel will request up to $560,000 in attorney’s fees and up to $15,000 in reimbursement of litigation expenses. In addition, the named plaintiffs will request an incentive award up to $5,000 each. The district has agreed to fully comply with the free school guarantee of the California Constitution and will repay all amounts paid by the class since July 12, 2016 for fees identified in the claim form. Judge Berles also wrote in the settlement approval that all parents in the district from both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years will be sent a letter that includes instructions should parents want to file a claim in a class-action lawsuit.  According to Pinsker, at no point during was the district made aware of what fees the plaintiffs were charged with that led to the lawsuit or what school they were coming from.  “We are dedicated to equal access and opportunity for all students to all programs and activities. No student should be turned away for inability to pay for something,” Pinsker said. While this lawsuit clearly affects the district, it also impacts Samo. Now, all teachers are required to include a statement in the class syllabi clarifying that any fees or materials are suggested, but not mandatory. Furthermore, the school hopes to take the burden of paying for extracurriculars off Samo families by fundraising and providing financial aid. These measures have been put in place by the district with the intent of satisfying the concerned families. The impact on academics has been minor, but Samo Principal Antonio Shelton predicted that won’t be the case for extracurricular programs. “Extracurriculars—that is a whole other story. When you look at extracurriculars...to be quite honest, things will have to change if people are expecting [free extracurriculars],” Shelton said. The sports programs at Samo are very costly and participants in some sports have had to spend hundreds of dollars on uniforms, equipment and tournament fees. After the lawsuit, the sports programs may need more district funding as opposed to continuing to ask families to pay. For instance, the most expensive sports program is the Pep Squad. Shelton explained that sports, such as the Pep Squad, can only receive a limited amount of funding from the school site and district. “If cheer wants a new uniform every year and the school is supposed to pay that, we need to operate differently and there's nothing wrong with operating differently. When you say ‘free,’ everyone has to understand we are on the same playing field… if you want to go to a competition we have got to have a budget for that competition. If a budget doesn’t exist for that competition, we don't go on that competition,” Shelton said.  Girls’ soccer coach and Spanish teacher, Jimmy Chapman, revealed that the lawsuit has not had a major impact on the way he runs both his Spanish classes and the soccer program. Chapman said he has noticed that more parents have reached out and offered to donate more classroom materials.