Bullis Charter School in Los Altos and the Santa Clara County Office of Education have settled their two-year legal fight over the school's charter renewal. Both boards approved the deal in September, the Los Altos Town Crier reported.
What the settlement says
- Bullis keeps its admissions preferences for local residents, siblings and staff families, plus a priority window for low-income applicants.
- The school must keep making good-faith efforts to recruit a diverse pool of applicants that reflects the Los Altos School District community. Compliance is judged by those efforts, not by numbers for any student group.
- The county board confirms it won't require Bullis to reach racial balance with the district.
- Bullis must dismiss its state and federal lawsuits with prejudice, so the claims generally can't be filed again. Neither side admits wrongdoing, and each pays its own legal costs.
How the fight started
In August 2024, the county board renewed Bullis' charter with conditions, partly based on a staff finding that the school hadn't adequately served all students who wanted to enroll. Bullis challenged those conditions in court and argued the county was imposing illegal racial quotas, the Palo Alto Daily Post reported.
Bullis also sued over a public records request for the county's demographic analysis. In a ruling this spring, Superior Court Judge Helen Williams let that records case go forward. Under the settlement, the county acknowledges Bullis' position that the evidence didn't show it excluded any student who wanted to attend.
The numbers behind the dispute
A 2024 analysis by King Consulting that Bullis provided found Hispanic or Latino students made up 4.1% of Bullis enrollment and 9.6% of Los Altos School District enrollment in 2023-24. The countywide district average was 37.7%, the Town Crier reported.