This fall, the Equity Alliance for LA’s Kids celebrates a decade of the tool that has improved our public schools’…
Investing in our highest needs children is
critical to transform Los Angeles.
What is the SENI (Students Equity Needs Index)?
An equity-based student need index to inform the allocation of
funds so that LAUSD can efficiently address the achievement gap.
SENI 2.0 is ready for use!
We must leverage this improved equity funding tool and begin
focusing on our concentration of high and highest-need
Elementary, Middle and High Schools to improve enrollment and increase funding.
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Desired Impact
We believe public education plays a significant role in eliminating poverty and racism for the future of all Angelenos.
The Key Issue
A major problem is the historic disinvestment in schools that has led to under resourced and constrained schools perpetuating inequity for Black and Latino students, often rendering them invisible. This has only solidified the achievement gap.
In addition, issues like gun violence, trauma and asthma substantially produce negative effects on our student’s ability to learn. The Department of Public Health (DPH) has submitted a letter with supporting evidence and research which highlight the negative effects these conditions have on student learning and achievement.
Today we see an unconscionable concentration of high and highest-need schools in parts of the district, thus we need a concentration of resources to address those specific needs of high and highest-need school in particular regions of the district.
Our Ask
- The kids earned this funding! Starting from 2013 they have earned over $1 billion per year through LCFF (local control funding formula).
- The Governor is proposing to fully fund LCFF this year reinforcing his statement, “equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice.” We ask LAUSD to adopt the “SENI 2.0” (Students Equity Needs Index) as the primary means for identifying high and highest-needs schools allocating LCFF investments.
- SENI 2.0 is ready for use! We must leverage this improved equity funding tool and begin focusing on our concentration of high and highest-need Elementary, Middle and High Schools to improve enrollment and increase funding.
- We negotiated with LAUSD to include community factors as SENI indicators, including chronic absenteeism, asthma rates, gun violence and more.
- We negotiated with LAUSD to include community factors as SENI indicators, including chronic absenteeism, asthma rates, gun violence and more.
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In May 2021, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board members passed the Equity is Justice 2021 Resolution to distribute an additional $700 million to schools using the Student Equity Needs Index (SENI). With this increased funding, schools will have expanded access to critical supports including psychiatric social workers, intervention coordinators, attendance counselors, planning time for teachers, and other vital interventions.
This $700 million investment demonstrates the board’s commitment to the educational equity we need to keep building.
Since the start of the pandemic and beginning of distance learning, students and their families have faced multiple barriers to education, including lack of internet access to disengagement. To learn about how LAUSD can foster an equitable recovery for our Black and Brown students, who have been hit hardest by the pandemic, check out our Racial Justice Equity Plan to Recovery .
Due to the Equity Alliance’s advocacy and positive news from the state’s May budget revisions, LAUSD revised its policy to releaseSENI carryover funds ahead of the 2024-25 school year. Previously, 80% of SENI funds were available for budget development, but this year only 30% were initially offered. Adjustments raised allocations to 70% for priority schools, 60% for highest and high-quantile SENI schools, and 50% for others, signaling a shift toward a needs-based approach.
TAKE ACTION!!