# Black Parallel School Board v. Sacramento City Unified School District

> District Court, E.D. California · September 28, 2021

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10030580

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, E.D. California
- **Decided:** September 28, 2021
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

MONA TAWATAO (SBN: 128779)
2 ALEXANDRA SANTA ANA (SBN: 317852)
Equal Justice Society
3
1939 Harrison Street, Suite 818
4 Oakland, California 94612
Telephone: (415) 288-8700
5 Facsimile: (510) 338-3030
Email: epaterson@equaljusticesociety.org
6 mtawatao@equaljusticesociety.org
ASantaAna@equaljusticesociety.org
7
8 MELINDA BIRD (SBN: 102236)
Disability Rights California
9 350 S. Bixel Street, Suite 290
Los Angeles, California 90017
10
Telephone: (213) 213-8000
11 Facsimile: (213) 213-8001
Email: melinda.bird@disabilityrightsca.org
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ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
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(Additional Attorneys Listed on Final Page)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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BLACK PARALLEL SCHOOL BOARD; S.A., by and Case No. 2:19-cv-01768-TLN-KJN
17 through his Next Friend, AMY A.; K.E., by and through
his Next Friend, JENNIFER E.; C.S., by and through his
18 General Guardian, SAMUEL S.; on behalf of themselves NOTICE OF JOINT MOTION AND
JOINT MOTION FOR FURTHER
and all others similarly situated,
19 EXTENSION OF STAY OF
LITIGATION; AND ORDER
20 Plaintiffs,
21 v. Judge: Hon. Troy L. Nunley
Courtroom: 7
22 SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT; Action Filed: September 5, 2019
JORGE A. AGUILAR, Superintendent for Sacramento
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City Unified School District; CHRISTINE A. BAETA,
24 Chief Academic Officer for the Sacramento City Unified
School District; JESSIE RYAN, DARREL WOO,
25 MICHAEL MINNICK, LISA MURAWSKI, LETICIA
GARCIA, CHRISTINA PRITCHETT, and MAI VANG,
26
members of the Sacramento City Unified School District
27 Board of Education; THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF
SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
28
Defendants.
1 NOTICE OF JOINT MOTION AND MOTION TO FURTHER EXTEND THE STAY
2 TO THE HONORABLE COURT:
3 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE Plaintiffs Black Parallel School Board as well as S.A., K.E., and
4 C.S. (“Plaintiffs”), by and through their guardians, and Defendants Sacramento City Unified School
5 District, et al. (the “District”) (collectively with Plaintiffs, “Parties”), through their respective
6 counsel of record, hereby jointly move this Court for a further extension of the stay of this litigation
7 for an additional four months, to February 4, 2022, so that the Parties may engage in agreed-upon
8 structured settlement negotiations, as set forth below.
9 As the Parties jointly move for the requested stay and agree on the propriety and scope of
10 same, the Parties do not believe argument or appearance is necessary for the Court to consider the
11 requested further stay, but are prepared to appear if the Court so orders.
12 STATEMENT OF FACTS
13 The Parties hereby stipulate to the following facts:
14 1. Plaintiffs filed their Complaint and initiated the instant action on September 5, 2019. (ECF
15 No. 1).
16 2. Plaintiffs served the District with its Complaint on September 10, 2019, and filed the related
17 Proof of Service on October 17, 2019. (ECF No. 7).
18 3. Shortly after Plaintiffs’ service of the Complaint, the Parties engaged in communications to
19 negotiate requesting a stay of this litigation for a designated period of time to allow the
20 Parties to participate in good faith negotiations toward a potential global resolution of this
21 action, thereby preserving the Parties’ and the Court’s time and resources.
22 4. On December 19, 2019, the Parties entered into a Structured Negotiations Agreement
23 (“Agreement”). (See ECF No. 24 at 9-23). The Parties also filed a joint motion for a stay of
24 litigation for the Parties to engage in agreed-upon structured settlement negotiations and
25 sought Court approval of same, which the Court ordered and approved on December 20,
26 2019. (ECF No. 25).
27 5. The Court’s Order required the Parties to submit status reports every 90 days during the
28 period of the stay. (ECF No. 25). The Parties filed the First Joint Status Report in April
1 2020 and the Second Joint Status Report in July 2020. (See ECF Nos. 28, 31). The Parties
2 reported in the First and Second Joint Status Reports that a number of interim measures
3 and/or actions under the Agreement had been completed. (ECF Nos. 28 at 3-5, 31 at 2-4).
4 Additionally, in the Second Joint Status Report, the Parties reported that the District had
5 executed contracts to hire three neutral, third-party subject matter experts – Dr. Jeffrey
6 Sprague, Dr. Nancy Dome, and Dr. Jean Gonsier-Gerdin (collectively, “Experts”). (ECF No.
7 31 at 3). The Parties further reported that they were working collaboratively with the Experts
8 to finalize the “Experts’ Evaluation Plan” (“Plan”). (ECF No. 31 at 3). The Plan identified
9 the Experts’ specific steps and work necessary to guide the Experts in their review and
10 analysis of the District under the Agreement. (ECF No. 31 at 3).
11 6. On July 10, 2020, the Parties filed a joint motion to extend the stay for six months to allow
12 the Parties time to complete the activities described in the Agreement, including but not
13 limited to providing time to the Experts to evaluate the District’s programs, policies and
14 services and make recommendations that would inform potential resolution of this matter.
15 (ECF No. 33). The Court granted the Parties’ joint motion on July 14, 2020. (ECF No. 34).
16 7. The Court’s Order required the Parties to submit a status report thirty days from the date of
17 the Court’s Order, a second status report 45 days after the first status report, and a third status
18 report 60 days after the second status report during the extended period of the stay. (ECF
19 No. 34). Accordingly, the Parties filed a Third Joint Status Report on August 13, 2020; a
20 Fourth Joint Status Report on September 28, 2020; and a Fifth Joint Status Report on
21 November 30, 2020. (ECF Nos. 36, 37, and 38).
22 8. On January 6, 2021, the Parties filed another joint motion to extend the stay by an additional
23 five months to enable the Parties to continue to engage in structured settlement negotiations
24 and allow the Experts to complete their assessment of the District. (ECF No. 39). The Court
25 granted the Parties’ joint motion on January 8, 2021 and also ordered the Parties to file a
26 status report 75 days later and every 75 days thereafter during the duration of the extended
27 stay. (ECF No. 40). Accordingly, the Parties filed a Sixth Joint Status Report on March 23,
28 2021 and a Seventh Joint Status Report on June 1, 2021. (ECF Nos. 41 and 43).
1 9. On June 1, 2021, the Parties filed a joint motion to extend the stay an additional four months
2 to allow the Parties to continue to engage in structured settlement negotiations and allow the
3 Experts to complete their report on the District. The Court granted the Parties’ joint motion
4 on June 2, 2021 and ordered the Parties to file a status report no later than 75 days from the
5 date of the order, and every 75 days thereafter for the duration of the extended stay period.
6 Accordingly, the Parties filed an eighth joint status report on August 16, 2021. (ECF No. 46).
7 10.In the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Joint Status Reports, the Parties
8 provided the Court with updates regarding the Parties’ implementation of the Agreement.
9 (See ECF Nos. 36, 37, 38, 41, 43, 46). First, the Parties reported that they were working in
10 collaboration with the Experts and Dr. Judy Elliott to finalize the Plan. (See ECF Nos. 36 at
11 2-3, 37 at 3, 38 at 3). In the Fifth Joint Status Report, the Parties reported that the Experts
12 were close to finalizing the Plan and had made an initial request to the District for documents
13 and data sources, including but not limited to specific District policies and procedures, to
14 begin their review of the District. (ECF No. 38 at 3). In the Sixth Joint Status Report, the
15 Parties reported that the Experts had completed and executed the Plan to complete the steps
16 set out in the Scope of Work agreed upon through the Agreement. (See ECF No. 41).
17 Additionally, in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Joint Status Reports, the Parties reported
18 that they had exchanged various proposals regarding additions and/or modifications to
19 interim measures in the Agreement. (ECF Nos. 36 at 3, 37 at 4, 38 at 3).
20 11.The Parties also reported that various factors, including but not limited to the COVID-19
21 pandemic, had delayed the Experts’ commencement and completion of their work under the
22 Agreement. (See ECF Nos. 37 at 3, 38 at 3). As a result, the Parties anticipated finalizing
23 and executing a side agreement to extend the date by which the Experts must finalize their
24 work under the Agreement. (See ECF Nos. 37 at 3, 38 at 3). The Parties executed this side
25 agreement on March 26, 2021. In the Side Agreement, the Parties agreed for the Experts’
26 Report to be completed by May 30, 2021. After execution of the Side Agreement, the Experts
27 informed both Parties that additional time was needed to complete the Report. Accordingly,
28 on June 28, 2021, the Parties executed an Addendum to the Side Agreement that extended
1 the deadline for the Experts’ Report to September 10, 2021. In the Seventh Joint Status
2 Report, the Parties reported that the Experts had been conducting interviews with class
3 members and their families, as well as various stakeholder organizations and individuals
4 connected to the District. (ECF No. 43 at 3). As reported in the Parties’ Eighth Joint Status
5 Report, the Experts completed these interviews, as well as a review and analysis of individual
6 student records and documents and data sources related to the District’s policies and
7 procedures. (ECF No. 46 at 3-4). The Experts were in the process of drafting their report.
8 (ECF No. 46 at 4).
9 12.The Experts have informed both Parties that they have completed a summary table of their
10 findings and recommendations and project October 4, 2021 as the completion date for a draft
11 of their report. Additional time is needed to finalize the Experts’ Report after both Parties are
12 able to provide feedback to the Experts.
13 Pursuant to the Agreement, the Parties seek this Court’s approval of a further stay of this
14 litigation to afford the Parties additional time to complete the activities described with regard to and
15 in the Agreement including, but not limited to, extending the time for the Experts to incorporate the
16 Parties’ feedback and finalize the Experts’ Report, and allowing the Parties to engage in the agreed-
17 upon structured negotiations informed by the Experts’ Report, with the goal of resolving this matter.
18 GOVERNING LAW
19 This Court “has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to control its
20 own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706-07 (1997) (citing Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S.
21 248) (1936)). In fact,
22 [T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to
control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for
23 itself, for counsel, and for litigants. How this can best be done calls for the exercise of
judgment, which must weigh competing interests and maintain an even balance.
24
25 Landis, 299 U.S. at 254-55.
26 Correspondingly, as this Court has recognized, “[c]ourts have applied their discretionary
27 authority to grant stays because it appeared that settlement discussions between the parties might
28 prove fruitful.” Johnson v. Village, Case No. 2:15-cv-02299-TLN-KJN, 2016 WL 1720710, at *6
1 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 29, 2016) (citing EEOC v. Canadian Indem. Co., 407 F. Supp. 1366, 1368 (C.D. Cal.
2 1976)).
3 REQUEST FOR STAY
4 As outlined above, the Parties have successfully negotiated an agreed-upon structure for
5 settlement discussions between the Parties, in the hope of reaching a global resolution of this matter
6 without the need for protracted litigation. The Parties now jointly move and request that this Court
7 further stay this matter for four more months, to February 4, 2022, so that the Parties may engage in
8 the activities agreed-upon and outlined in the Agreement.
9 Good cause exists to grant the Parties’ joint motion. As noted above, the Experts’ full
10 commencement of work under the Agreement was delayed due to various factors, including but not
11 limited to the COVID-19 pandemic. (See ECF Nos. 37 at 3, 38 at 3). As a result of this delay, the
12 Experts were not able to complete their work under the Agreement by January 2021 and required
13 additional time to complete their work under the Agreement. Now that the Experts’ work is near
14 completion, the Parties request an extension of the stay in order to engage in structured negotiations.
15 Moreover, the Parties believe that a stay is justified because it will: (1) promote judicious use
16 of the Parties’ and Court’s time and resources; and (2) offer the opportunity for speedy resolution
17 and relief without protracted litigation, which is particularly critical where, as here, certain Plaintiffs
18 are children and Defendants are governmental entities or officials. Given the Parties’ negotiations to
19 date, the Parties believe that a negotiated global resolution of this matter is viable, if given time to
20 engage in the activities necessary to reach such a resolution. The Parties also agree that these
21 activities would be significantly hindered if the Parties also had to engage in simultaneous motion
22 and discovery practice.
23 Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, any Party may withdraw from settlement
24 negotiations with sufficient advance written notice. If that occurs, the Parties will inform the Court
25 so that the Court may lift the stay accordingly.
26 CONCLUSION
27 Based upon the foregoing, the Parties respectfully move the Court to enter an order:
28 (1)Staying this litigation for all purposes for four more months, to February 4, 2022, including
1 temporarily excusing the Parties from complying with this Court’s Initial Pretrial Scheduling
2 Order (ECF No. 4), so that the Parties can focus on and engage in structured settlement
3 negotiations;
4 (2)Extending the time for Defendants to respond to Plaintiffs’ Complaint until 30 days after the
5 stay is lifted upon order of this Court, should negotiations be unsuccessful or terminated by
6 the Parties; and
7
8 DATED: September 27, 2021 Respectfully submitted,
9 EQUAL JUSTICE SOCIETY
10
/s/ Mona Tawatao (as authorized on September 24,
11
2021)
12 MONA TAWATAO
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
13
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DISABILITY RIGHTS CALIFORNIA
15
16 /s/ Ramaah Sadasivam (as authorized on September 24,
2021)
17
RAMAAH SADASIVAM
18 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
19
NATIONAL CENTER FOR YOUTH LAW
20
21
/s/ Michael Harris (as authorized on September 24,
22 2021)
MICHAEL HARRIS
23 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
WESTERN CENTER ON LAW AND POVERTY
24
25
/s/ Antionette Dozier (as authorized on September 24,
26 2021)
ANTIONETTE DOZIER
27
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
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1 DATED: September 27, 2021 Respectfully submitted,
2
LOZANO SMITH
3
4 /s/ Sloan Simmons (as authorized on September 24, 2021)
SLOAN SIMMONS
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Attorneys for Defendant
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1 ADDITIONAL ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS (cont’d. from first page)
2
RAMAAH SADASIVAM (SBN: 267156)
3 BRIDGET CLAYCOMB (SBN: 312001)
LAUREN LYSTRUP (SBN: 326849)
4 Disability Rights California
1000 Broadway, Suite 395
5 Oakland, California 94612
Telephone: (510) 267-1200
6
Facsimile: (510) 267-1201
7 Email: ramaah.sadasivam@disabilityrightsca.org
bridget.claycomb@disabilityrightsca.org
8 lauren.lystrup@disabilityrightsca.org
9
MICHAEL HARRIS (SBN: 118234)
10 ATASI UPPAL (SBN: 330716)
National Center for Youth Law
11 1212 Broadway, Suite 600
Oakland, California 94612
12
Telephone: (510) 835-8098
13 Facsimile: (410) 835-8099
Email: mharris@youthlaw.org
14 auppal@youthlaw.org
15
ANTIONETTE DOZIER (SBN: 244437)
16 RICHARD ROTHSCHILD (SBN: 67356)
Western Center on Law and Poverty
17
3701 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 208
18 Los Angeles, California 90010
Telephone: (213) 487-7211
19 Facsimile: (213) 487-0242
Email: adozier@wclp.org
20
rrothschild@wclp.org
21
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS
22
23 SLOAN R. SIMMONS (SBN: 233752)
ALYSSA R. BIVENS (SBN: 308331)
24 Lozano Smith
One Capital Mall, Suite 640
25
Sacramento, California 94814
26 Telephone: (916) 329-7433
Facsimile: (916) 329-9050
27
Email: ssimmons@lozanosmith.com
28 abivins@lozanosmith.com
1 ORDER
2 Pursuant to the foregoing Joint Motion of the Parties, and GOOD CAUSE APPEARING
3 | THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
4 (1) This action is temporarily stayed for four months, to February 4, 2022, for all purposes to
5 enable the Parties to focus on and engage in settlement efforts;
6 (2) While this stay is in effect, the Parties are excused from complying with this Court’s
7 Initial Pretrial Scheduling Order (ECF No. 4);
8 (3) While this stay is in effect, the Defendants are not required to file a responsive pleading
9 until 30 days after any stay in this action is lifted.
10
IT IS SO ORDERED. () f /)
DATED: S \ } high
: September 27, 2021 i \
13 Troy L. Nunley) ]
14 United States District Judge
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Not. & Joint Mot. For Further Extension of Stay of Litigation & Order □□□□
Black Parallel School Board et al. v. SC USD et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-01768-TLN-KJN

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10030580. Public record. Not legal advice.