Abstract
The persistent disparities for African American students are and remain an issue of unequal opportunities to learn (Cowan Pitre, 2014). One reason that the gaps are so persistent is that American schools have been pressured to preserve the status quo (Brown, 2010). The educational outcomes for African American students in the United States has remained unchanged for decades. “National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data presents trends documenting the historic and persistent disparities in the educational outcomes among African American students” (Cowan Pitre, 2014, p. 209). English learners, economically disadvantaged, Latino students and African American students represent a chronically underserved student population in California. What are the realities of principals regarding the effectiveness of the LCAP to meet the needs of K12 African American students? The LCFF and the LCAP represent a change in laws and policies to tackle the disparities in success for African American students. The conceptual underpinnings of this research were community-based reform and systemic equity. The specific student population identified for this study are marginalized African American students. The researcher employed a qualitative methods approach to achieve the purpose of the research. In addition, the research will examine whether principals’ perceptions and capacity in the LCAP context help schools effectively meet the needs of marginalized African American students.