The California Attorney General's office and Natomas Unified School District reached a settlement requiring sweeping policy changes following an investigation that found violations in student privacy and discriminatory discipline practices, Sacramento County Superior Court records show.
An investigation by the state's Bureau of Children's Justice, which began in January 2023, found that Natomas Unified violated student privacy laws by releasing confidential student education records to third parties without required parental consent.
Black students and students with disabilities were substantially overrepresented among those referred for discipline and were more likely to receive harsher consequences including out-of-school suspensions or expulsion, according to the investigation. The state concluded that the district had less discriminatory alternatives available to address student conduct.
Investigators also identified unlawful suspensions. California law prohibits out-of-school suspensions for kindergarten through eighth-grade students for disruption or willful defiance, yet the district issued such suspensions during the period reviewed.
The investigation reviewed thousands of pages of documents and years of discipline data, and included site visits and interviews with stakeholders and community members.
Under the settlement, Natomas Unified must revise its discipline and student privacy policies, engage a technical assistance provider to implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, conduct annual reviews of all expulsion referrals, train staff yearly on discipline and privacy topics, hold annual information sessions for parents and guardians, and create a student privacy section on its website. The agreement includes a multi-year monitoring period and requires the district to designate a coordinator to oversee implementation.