The long-standing court-ordered framework that has guided desegregation and specialized admissions in Los Angeles public schools is under renewed legal attack, the ACLU warned Thursday, setting up a potential clash with deep implications for magnet programs and efforts to maintain diverse school populations across the city.
Background of the PHBAO program
The policy at the center of the dispute is the Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian, or Other non-Anglo (PHBAO) designation and the related priority admissions points used by hundreds of Los Angeles magnet schools. The ACLU says those measures are part of a remedial plan born out of litigation stretching back to the 1960s aimed at reversing systemic segregation in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Point Fermin Marine Science Magnet School, located in South Los Angeles, is highlighted in the ACLU commentary as an example of a program that provides students citywide access to specialized instruction and a diverse learning environment. The ACLU noted that for an eight-year-old identified only as A.M., the school is “a safe, nurturing environment” and an opportunity to learn alongside peers from across Los Angeles.
"For more than 40 years, equal access to educational opportunities of Los Angeles students under the California Constitution have been protected by a court order."
What’s being challenged
The ACLU said the 1776 Project Foundation, joined by the U.S. Department of Justice, has filed a lawsuit seeking to terminate the PHBAO program. The plaintiffs argue that the program’s consideration of race or race-linked attendance-area designations is discriminatory. The ACLU counters that the PHBAO policy is a court-ordered remedy — part of the response to findings of segregation in the district — and not a discriminatory practice.
- Origins: The ACLU filed a lawsuit in 1963 challenging segregation in LAUSD.
- Key ruling: A 1981 order in Crawford v. Board of Education found schools within LAUSD were segregated and required remedial measures.
- Current action: The 1776 Project Foundation and the DOJ are seeking to end the PHBAO admissions policy.
Legal and community stakes
Advocates for maintaining the PHBAO designation argue it is a necessary tool to sustain diversity in magnet programs and ensure students from communities historically harmed by segregation have access to enhanced curricular options and resources. The ACLU described the admissions points as a component of a larger plan that, for decades, guaranteed students in communities most affected by segregation certain baseline supports.
If courts were to agree with the 1776 Project Foundation and the DOJ, magnet schools that have relied on PHBAO-based priority for outreach and admissions could see their applicant pools shift and—critics fear—become less accessible to students from predominantly Black, Hispanic and other non-Anglo neighborhoods.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1963 | ACLU files lawsuit challenging segregation in LAUSD |
| 1981 | Court issues order in Crawford v. Board of Education requiring remedial plan |
| 2026 | 1776 Project Foundation and DOJ sue to end PHBAO admissions policy |
LAUSD leaders, school communities and civil-rights organizations will be closely watching the litigation. Any change to the legal framework that has governed admissions preferences could require the district to revisit recruitment, resource allocation and policies intended to address long-term disparities.
The dispute also raises broader questions about how courts reconcile race-conscious remedies that grew out of findings of historical discrimination with contemporary claims that such measures themselves constitute impermissible uses of race in public education. For families like A.M.’s, the outcome could determine not just access to specialized programming but the character of school communities across Los Angeles.
As the case proceeds, local education advocates say they will press policymakers and the courts to preserve mechanisms that, in their view, continue to be necessary to correct the enduring effects of segregation rooted in the district’s past.
