REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 18, 2025
FROM
TED ALEJANDRE, County Superintendent, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
SUBJECT
Title
Williams Settlement, 2024-25 Annual Report
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Receive the Williams Settlement 2024-25 Annual Report, pursuant to the state of schools in the county that are identified for monitoring based on the criteria set forth in Section 1240(c) of the Education Code.
(Presenter: Ted Alejandre, County Superintendent, 386-2406)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The approval of this action is non-financial in nature, and therefore, does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Williams Lawsuit Settlement (Williams Settlement), reached and enacted into law in August 2004, set the standard for providing equitable educational opportunities in San Bernardino County and throughout California. The Williams Settlement legislation has provided an opportunity for county and district superintendents to work collaboratively to support and assist underperforming schools to improve student achievement.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed Williams v. California in 2000 on behalf of the plaintiffs, nearly 100 students from San Francisco County, as a class action lawsuit against the State of California and its educational agencies. The basis of the lawsuit was that public-school agencies failed to provide public school students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and clean school facilities, and qualified teachers. The issue of equity for disadvantaged and minority students, particularly in large and urban school districts, was the crux of the case.
The settlement covered four key areas:
• Instructional Materials: All students, including English learners, must have sufficient access to standards-aligned instructional materials or textbooks in all core subject areas for use in class and at home.
• Facilities: All schools must be safe, clean, and in good repair.
• Teacher Credentialing and Assignment: All schools must have teachers that are appropriately certificated for their specific teaching assignment, including English Learner Authorization.
• Public Reporting: All schools must include information on the sufficiency of instructional materials, repair of school facilities, and teacher misassignments and vacancies in their School Accountability Report Card (SARC). Additionally, all schools, not including charter schools, must post a notice in each classroom informing parents, guardians, pupils, and teachers of their right to file a Williams complaint regarding instructional materials sufficiency, facilities good repair, and teacher vacancy or misassignments.
In fiscal year 2013-14, the Local Control Funding Formula was implemented and made significant changes to education statutes. Williams Settlement requirements for all schools remained in effect and were further distinguished as the first of eight state priorities that must be addressed in mandated Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs). This means all schools (monitored and those that are not) must continue adhering to the Williams Settlement legislation requirements and all districts must identify and address actions that will be taken each year to achieve and/or correct any deficiencies related to Williams Settlement compliance in their LCAPs.
In fiscal year 2021-22, new criteria were established with the passage of Assembly Bill 599, which replaced the previously used Academic Performance Index, to identify a list of schools, including charter schools, to be monitored by the County Superintendent to ensure Williams Settlement compliance. The criteria included schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act. In addition, the criteria included schools where 15% or more of the teachers held a permit or certificate lesser than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. In accordance with Education Code Section 1240, the list of schools identified was reestablished by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the 2024-25 fiscal year and every three fiscal years thereafter beginning in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The 2024-25 fiscal year was the third year of the fifth cohort. 133 schools in the county were subject to review and received at least one site visit.
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) review teams conducted the instructional materials and facilities reviews at all monitored schools within their first four weeks of the 2024-25 school year based on district-specific start dates. At the conclusion of the instructional materials monitoring process, there was one school with instructional materials insufficiencies. All other shortages identified at the time of visitation were resolved by the eight-week deadline specified in Education Code Section 60119.
Overall, the SBCSS review teams found facilities conditions to be in good repair. Three emergency or extreme conditions were observed: one case of a non-functional air conditioning system, one instance of a power failure in all or a portion of the school, and one instance of play/sports equipment that posed an extreme safety hazard. Two of the conditions were remedied prior to the end of the site visit. The most common good repair deficiencies reported, in order of frequency, include sinks/fountains not working properly, followed by damaged ceiling tiles, fire extinguishers missing their monthly sign off, unsecured items stored too high and posing a safety hazard, and observances of significant cracks, holes, or deterioration on playgrounds or school grounds.
A separate review was conducted to evaluate each monitored school’s SARC for accuracy of information reported to the public pertaining to the sufficiency of instructional materials and the condition of school facilities based on statutory requirements and SBCSS monitoring findings. During the review, any inaccuracies observed, and a resolution deadline were communicated to districts/schools. Two schools did not resolve the inaccuracies by the conclusion of the review period.
The annual teacher assignment monitoring process, conducted via the California Statewide Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS), has faced delays due to 2019-20 school year legislative changes, which shifted the process from a review of specified Local Education Agencies (LEAs) within the current year, to a 90-day window for all certificated assignments in districts and teaching assignments in charter schools countywide. This report presents findings for the 2023-24 fiscal year, reviewed between August 1 and October 29, 2024. The 2024-25 fiscal year review, conducted from August 1 to November 14, 2025, will be reported subsequently.
Findings include vacancies (no contracted teacher) and misassignments (present but unqualified teacher), with vacancies considered a type of misassignment for reporting purposes (32.3% of countywide misassignments). Williams Settlement-monitored schools (133 of 563 countywide) account for 12.5% of misassignments (517 of 4,129), emphasizing equity challenges in high-needs schools. Since the 2020-21 school year, districts in San Bernardino County and statewide consistently report the highest misassignments in core academic subjects-Elective, Science, English, Math, and Social Science. These subjects form the backbone of the curriculum, and persistent misassignments highlight ongoing challenges in recruiting and credentialing qualified teachers for foundational instruction.
2023-24 Findings
|
Metric |
Williams-monitored Schools (133 total) |
Countywide (563 schools) |
Statewide |
|
Vacancies |
101 |
1,332 |
22,012 |
|
Misassignments |
517 |
4,129 |
82,888 |
San Bernardino County ranks high among Class II counties (counties with an average daily attendance of 140,000 to 749,999) for misassignments and vacancies, but shows improvement in corrected misassignments, reflecting effective interventions. San Bernardino County’s misassignment rate (4.981% of the statewide misassignments total) is lower than Class I counties (counties with an average daily attendance of 750,000 and over) like Los Angeles (e.g., 24.3% in 2023-24), but our vacancy trends align with statewide challenges in Class I and II counties. The table below compares total misassignments (MA) in Class II counties to statewide totals:
|
Class II County |
2020-2021 |
2021-2022 |
2022-2023 |
2023-2024 |
|
|
Total MA |
% of State |
Total MA |
% of State |
Total MA |
% of State |
Total MA |
% of State |
|
Alameda |
7,440 |
10.446% |
7,691 |
11.057% |
8,962 |
11.777% |
10,337 |
12.471% |
|
Contra Costa |
2,389 |
3.354% |
2,627 |
3.777% |
2,554 |
3.356% |
3,118 |
3.762% |
|
Fresno |
2,258 |
3.170% |
2,679 |
3.852% |
2,502 |
3.288% |
2,492 |
3.006% |
|
Orange |
4,835 |
6.788% |
3,477 |
4.999% |
2,419 |
3.179% |
2,754 |
3.323% |
|
Riverside |
2,574 |
3.614% |
1,982 |
2.850% |
2,490 |
3.272% |
2,215 |
2.672% |
|
Sacramento |
2,519 |
3.537% |
2,488 |
3.577% |
3,633 |
4.774% |
4,380 |
5.284% |
|
San Bernardino |
3,517 |
4.938% |
4,904 |
7.051% |
4,252 |
5.588% |
4,129 |
4.981% |
|
San Diego |
2,960 |
4.156% |
2,913 |
4.188% |
3,834 |
5.038% |
3,781 |
4.562% |
|
San Joaquin |
2,464 |
3.459% |
2,043 |
2.937% |
2,614 |
3.435% |
3,008 |
3.629% |
|
Santa Clara |
2,644 |
3.712% |
2,803 |
4.030% |
2,986 |
3.924% |
3,845 |
4.639% |
|
Statewide |
71,225 |
69,555 |
76,096 |
82,888 |
A recent survey of LEAs indicates recent stabilization is driven by strategies like mentorship programs, online job boards (e.g., EdJoin), job fairs, and partnerships with higher education. Regarding vacancy/retention drivers, the most frequent responses identified low salaries and high benefit costs.
In conclusion, the Williams Settlement remains a cornerstone of educational equity in San Bernardino County and California, with comprehensive monitoring of instructional materials, facilities, teacher assignments, and public reporting ensuring sustained progress toward equitable learning environments and enhanced student outcomes across all required areas.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 29, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Ivan Ramirez, Administrative Analyst, 387-4020; and Diana Atkeson, Assistant County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on October 30, 2025.