Long Beach Unified Sch. Dist. v. STATE OF CALIF.

Introduction

Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) filed a claim with the Board of Control of the State of California (Board), asserting that certain expenditures related to its efforts to alleviate racial and ethnic segregation in its schools had been mandated by the state through regulations (Executive Order) issued by the Department of Education (DOE) and were reimbursable pursuant to former Revenue and Taxation Code section 2234 and article XIII B, section 6 of the California Constitution. The Board eventually approved the claim and reported to the Legislature its recommendation that funds be appropriated to cover the statewide estimated costs of compliance with the Executive Order. When the Legislature deleted the requested funding from an appropriations bill, LBUSD filed a petition to compel reimbursement (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085) and complaint for declaratory relief. The trial court held that the doctrines of administrative collateral estoppel and waiver prevented the state from challenging the decisions of the Board, and it gave judgment to LBUSD. It also ruled that certain funds previously appropriated by the Legislature were “reasonably available” for…