Attorney General announced an agreement with Natomas Unified School District to address unlawful policies and practices related to student privacy and school discipline, the attorney general’s office said Friday.
The California Department of Justice said its investigation, which began in January 2023, reviewed thousands of pages of documents and years of discipline data, conducted site visits and interviewed stakeholders. DOJ filed a complaint in Sacramento County Superior Court and entered a stipulated judgment with the district.
DOJ said the investigation found Natomas Unified released confidential student education records to third parties without the required parental or guardian consent under California law.
After analyzing 2018-19 to 2024-25 discipline data, DOJ said Black students and students with disabilities were substantially overrepresented among those referred for discipline and more likely to receive exclusionary punishment, including out-of-school suspensions or expulsion. DOJ concluded the practices were not necessary to meet a legitimate educational purpose because less discriminatory alternatives existed.
DOJ also found the district issued out-of-school suspensions for disruption or willful defiance, including in several cases to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Education Code section 48900(k) prohibits suspending any student in kindergarten through 12th grade for disruption or willful defiance, the office said.
The stipulated judgment includes multi-year monitoring, policy revisions, annual staff training, annual parent information sessions, a Student Privacy section on the district website, and engagement of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports technical assistance provider. DOJ said the district began implementing changes before the agreement and worked cooperatively to settle.
State
Rob Bonta
Attorney General · Democrat
Named 2 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
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