A federal lawsuit says Fresno Unified’s program to fix educational gaps among African American students discriminates against non-Black children.

Of the district’s roughly 5,200 African American students, 23% participated in the program in the 2023-24 school year.

The Office of African American Academic Acceleration (A4) served 7,950 students, with Black students making up 45.9% of enrollment. Hispanic students comprised 34.9% of enrollment.

San Diego-based Californians for Equal Rights, the plaintiff, wants the district to encourage underachieving students of all races and ethnicities to take advantage of the program’s supports and offerings.

The Pacific Legal Foundation filed the case in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of California. Californians for Equal Rights has some Fresno Unified parents.

What Is A4?

Fresno Unified started (A4) in 2017 to increase literacy and math skills among Black students — many of whom test far below students of other races.

In that school year, only 20.7% of African-American students met or exceeded English language arts standards compared to 52.5% of white students, according to the program’s 2024 impact report. In math, only 13.9% of African-American students met or exceeded math standards compared to 42.3% of white students.

Staff sought to fix that through 13 A4 programs. In 2024, the district spent $11.5 million on the program.

A spokesperson with Fresno Unified said the district does not comment on pending litigation.

But attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation say more than just Black students need help reading and writing. Non-Black students were not told about the program, they alleged. The lawsuit mentions several students (and parents) who say they would have enrolled in the programs had they known about them.

Attorneys say the district wanted to create a “racially segregated environment” and give preferential treatment to students because of their race.

“There’s no reason why Fresno couldn’t have a program that’s available to all students, advertised as being open to all students, promoted to all students, without regard to the race of students,” said Wilson Freeman, attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation.

“If they’re going to have after-school programs, they just have to be available to students of all races.”

A Look at the A4 Programs

A4’s 13 programs range from reading and math programs at elementary, middle school, and high school levels, to math camps, adviser programs, and leadership academies.

“Non-Black students who learn about A4 programs are directed to other extracurricular offerings because of their race,” the lawsuit states.

Attorneys say using federal funds to pay for A4 programs necessitates that access to programs be equal.

Lawyers want the district to stop using race to operate, fund, advertise, or admit students in the A4 program. They want equal notice and outreach to eligible students.

The lawsuit seeks attorneys’ fees, costs, and other legal or equitable relief.

Pacific Legal Foundation

Freeman said the legal foundation hopes to set a precedential case with their lawsuit. Pacific Legal did not try to work with the district before filing the lawsuit.

Pacific Legal Foundation advertises itself as a “public interest law firm that defends Americans’ liberties when threatened by government overreach and abuse,” according to its website. They regularly seek to fight affirmative action, Freeman said.

Of the 20 Pacific Legal cases that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the foundation has won 18, including significant cases in property rights and administrative law.

Pacific Legal Foundation is not charging the plaintiffs for representation.

When attorneys spoke with parents, they were told the district only seeks out parents of one particular race, said Freeman. They are still in the discovery phase, so the extent of the alleged discrimination is not yet known. But the marketing of the program alone doesn’t meet the standard for equal protection.

“There have been cases where students have attempted to attend this program,” Freeman said. “And if they’re not Black, they may have been sent to a different program. Now, that doesn’t mean that in every case Fresno is excluding children on the basis of race. We simply don’t know how broad the exclusion is.”

A4 Raises Participant Test Scores and Attendance

The district reports some success with A4. In 2023, 14% of students who attended math camp pretested at grade level. At the end of the three-week course, that rate grew to 24%. The program enjoyed 83% attendance rates and 97% of parents felt their children were positively impacted.

The program’s after-school reading program served 1,193 students across 33 schools. Thirty-five percent of participants grew one language level that year.

Outside of academic achievement, the program boasts increased school attendance among participants.

African-American students who participated in the after-school reading program experienced a 26% decline in chronic absenteeism, compared to a 12% decrease among non-participants.

Students in the African American Student Leadership Academy had higher attendance rates and academic grade-point averages than the district’s high schoolers as a whole.

Outcomes for African American students in general have not had the same success as other students.

While a baseline subgroup of students maintained English Language Arts levels from 2020 to 2024, African American students declined, going from 34% to 30%, according to the impact report. That baseline subgroup increased its math proficiency, going from 45% to 50% from 2020 to 2024. African American students maintained their 18% rate.

By other test metrics, African American students showed gains following the 2017-18 school year until COVID-19 forced school shutdown and remote learning.