It’s not the first time Defending Education has made such claims against Bay Area school districts.

Sep 13, 2026

Updated 4:36 pm PT

The Oakland Unified School District Offices in Oakland on April 28, 2025. The nonprofit Defending Education alleges the district is discriminating against white students, and it isn’t the first time they’ve said so about a Bay Area school district.  (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

Oakland Unified School District’s Latino Men and Boys and Latinx Mentoring and Achievement programs are aimed at helping Latino youth improve outcomes in their personal lives and studies, but a conservative parents group claims the initiatives are discriminatory.

The nonprofit Defending Education filed a federal civil rights complaint this week with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging the district violated Titles VI and IX by discriminating based on sex and race.

“Over the past decade, OUSD has offered racially discriminatory programs to students ranging from high school seniors to three-year-old preschoolers,” the nonprofit said in a statement. “These programs provide additional academic support, mentoring, and even cash payments based on students’ race and sex.” 

Students run behind a wall providing shade in the schoolyard at International Community School in Oakland on Oct. 20, 2022. Defending Education claims in a federal civil rights complaint that Oakland Unified discriminated against white students.  (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Defending Education said the Latino Men and Boys program offers services that aren’t offered to white students, and the Latinx Mentoring and Achievement program for female-identifying and nonbinary students discriminates based on gender. 

The Unity Council, which helps operate the Latino student programs, and OUSD did not respond to requests for comment. 

The Unity Council said on its website that the programs “significantly increase” graduation rates and promote healthy lifestyles. Advocates, including those in the Bay Area, say such programs are necessary to level the playing field for students. 

Students play a game during recess at Grass Valley Elementary School in Oakland on April 28, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Defending Education’s complaint, which urges the Office of Civil Rights to open an investigation into the district, isn’t the first time the group has made such claims. 

Under the name “Parents Defending Education,” the conservative group claimed that San Leandro Unified discriminated against other students by offering programming specifically for Black boys. 

Then, in San Francisco Unified, the organization raised concerns over an ethnic studies curriculum that was ultimately adopted.