English Learners represent 18.6% of the entire California public school population or 1.1 million students; 81.4% speak Spanish (California Department of Education [CDE], 2021b). Historically, English Learners have experienced inequitable educational opportunities when compared to their English-only counterparts in California (Gándara & Contreras, 2010; Gándara et al., 2003; Perez Huber et al., 2015; Rumberger & Gándara, 2004), which has led to low educational achievement CDE, 2019a; Gándara & Mordechay, 2017; Olsen, 2010). To address underserved students’ inequitable educational opportunities throughout California, then-Governor Edmund G. Brown signed into law the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2013. The LCFF provides equitable funding to schools that serve targeted student groups, including low-income students, foster youth, and English Learners. As part of the policy, the State mandates that districts engage local stakeholders (e.g., families, students, and community members) in the development of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) (EC 52060). The LCAP is a three-year plan where districts document the strategies and funding allocations they will complete for the school year, with a concentrated effort to provide equitable opportunities for targeted subgroups, such as English Learners. Latino parent leaders historically have experienced barriers in the parent engagement process (Olivos, 2004, 2006). This phenomenological study used the critical methodology of testimonios to document the experiences of Latina parent leaders in their participation in the LCAP process. The study recruited eight parent leaders across four districts in Los Angeles County. The findings from this study emphasize that the school system is not neutral. Instead, it is an instrument of cultural hegemony, which negatively impacted the Latina parent leaders’ meaningful engagement in the LCAP process. The testimonios revealed the importance of community organizations in the LCAP experience for Latino parent leaders and their ability to help disrupt the school system’s power imbalance.

In 2013 the California Legislation passed a new K-12 School accountability mandate. The Local Control Accountability Plan was sought to increase the educational equity for targeted student groups in addition to allowing school districts to mine a diverse set of local school data to develop goals in the 8 priority areas that speak to the needs of their local students. A requirement of the LCAP was that school districts include a diverse set of stakeholders to work in a collaborative manner to develop, critique, and refine local goals. Stakeholder groups are required to consist of district-level administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents, and community stakeholders. This qualitative study focused on the experiences and insights of district and community stakeholders as they participated in the development of LCAPs. To answer the questions and understand the experience of stakeholders interviews, document analysis, and observations were used. The results of the study revealed that while the intent of bringing a diverse set of stakeholders is noble there is a need to build trust amongst stakeholders. Findings also show the need to build community stakeholder understanding of the purpose, promises, and limits of the LCAP. The study revealed the need for school districts to examine and dismantle historic practices in order to fully embrace and implement the LCAP mandates.