Students and parents always come last at the Los Angeles Unified School District

If you think the agreement reached this week between United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and Los Angeles Unified was negotiated with students’ best interests in mind, think again.

Yes, the new agreement does include specific requirements on smaller class sizes — two students less per class — but where else does it address the issues that really matter to parents?

The district’s summary of the agreement highlights a teacher salary increase of more than 21 percent, but not a single line item ties the salary increases to student academic outcomes.

Is it unfair to require teachers to achieve actual results?

Of course, children do have diverse levels of academic abilities and real life hardships affect educational outcomes. But all children can learn, and bargaining agreements don’t hold teachers accountable to require that they do learn—at some defined level.

Do you have a job where your duties are not tied to the outcomes you must achieve? If so, you are probably a member of a union.

State student achievement tests for the 2021-22 school year show only four out of 10 LAUSD students meet English language arts (ELA) standards, while just one out of every three students are proficient in grade-level math.

The numbers are even more devastating for English learner students. Among English learner 11th graders in LAUSD, only a startling 1.3 percent met the state’s math standards and a mere 2.5 percent met English Language Arts standards.

These facts are heartbreaking. Statistics from other large urban school districts across the country indicate similar results. Could the lack of teacher accountability be a factor?

With 90,977 English learner students in the district this year, LAUSD’s District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) should play a vital role in district policymaking. California law requires that a DELAC made up of parents or guardians of English learners advise the district on English learner programs and services.

In LAUSD, DELAC has for years made formal recommendations for the district to create additional regional-level parent committees to allow for more local representation and discussion, but these requests continue to go unheeded.

Many LAUSD Board of Education members treat hearings with DELAC members more like an administrative hassle than actually engaging with parents about their concerns.

Frustrated parents have been speaking out — many in Spanish — at Board of Education meetings. But with the comment period limited to just three minutes, parent frustrations are palpable.

Why does the district dismiss parent concerns?

In light of the district’s recent negotiations with SEIU Local 99 and now UTLA, one thing is clear: Parents and taxpayers do not have representation at the bargaining table.

As contract negotiations were developing during the SEIU Local 99 strike, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho made a point of stating that the $4.9 billion in reserves in the district’s budget are “intended to support critical student services that increase equitable access to learning.”

Since LAUSD caved to SEIU and UTLA’s demands, it begs the question, “What cutbacks to our children’s services will be made to afford these salary increases?”

LAUSD parents want to hold the district accountable for academic results, but there is no method to do so. By default, all parents can do is remove their children from district schools, and parents continue to do just that. Yet charter school operators are demonized by unions and the media. Families who resort to homeschooling or private schools take on a huge additional financial commitment, despite the already sky-high cost of living in Los Angeles.

Not all parents have the resources for these options. Families should be able to count on LAUSD schools to provide a quality education where students master education basics like reading and math.

If LAUSD’s Board of Education would listen to district parents on what their children really need — and hold teachers accountable for student performance — we just might see some progress.

Maria Luisa Palma is a parent of a Los Angeles Unified School District student.