Done At Last: The End of OCSA vs. SAUSD

Ellie Choi

In 2019, SAUSD sent OCSA an unexpected invoice for nearly $20 million, claiming that OCSA owed its share of special education costs for the years 2002 to 2019. OCSA responded by filing a lawsuit against SAUSD on the basis that the invoice was unlawful. OCSA President & CEO Teren Shaffer told Evolution that SAUSD’s demands contradicted “what [OCSA] believed to be a legally binding charter contract agreement."

To secure its independence from SAUSD, OCSA took steps in 2020 to move its charter authority from SAUSD to Orange County Department of Education. With a loan from Farmers & Merchants Bank, OCSA will pay the settlement amount in installments over an extended period of time.  

In early 2025, a Los Angeles judge ordered OCSA to pay $16 million of SAUSD’s claim. Faced with the possibility of financial distress, the OCSA community mobilized. In the spring of 2025, thousands of OSCA students, parents, teachers and other supporters called elected officials and showed up at SAUSD board meetings to protest and provide live testimony about the profound benefits of an OCSA education and the implications for thousands of students of losing this legal dispute. 

Helena Donato-Sapp (CW ‘27) started a petition-signing campaign in support of OCSA. “The thing that motivates me to speak up and advocate for OCSA is that the issue at hand – special education services – is deeply personal to me because I have four non-apparent learning disabilities,” Donato-Sapp said. “I had to speak up for the rights of all disabled students because we deserve a fair and equal education.” 

Rather than pursuing a costly appeal, OCSA’s Leadership Team and Board of Trustees sought mediation with SAUSD Board members. Over the summer, the parties were finally able to reach a resolution. 

“When the dispute was finally resolved, I felt a tremendous sense of relief, a weight being lifted, and optimism for the future,” Shaffer said. “This outcome enables OCSA to rebuild a sense of stability and look toward a brighter future ahead.” 

Just weeks before the start of the new school year, OCSA settled its lawsuit against the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), agreeing to pay $8.55 million, less than half of the approximately $20 million originally demanded by SAUSD back in 2019. 

“Now that the lawsuit has been settled, what’s more important than the money lost is the community that came together, demonstrating how OCSA continues to inspire thousands of students annually,” Student Body President Ronit Shiroy (IM-J ‘26) said. “I was a little worried about the lawsuit and the implications it would have on OCSA’s future, yet seeing the strong support that showed out at all the OCSA v. SAUSD meetings gave me hope that it would all be okay.”

As OCSA looks ahead to its 40th anniversary next year, the school is preparing for a new five-year strategic plan. “With the SAUSD litigation behind us, we can now fully dedicate our energy and resources to what matters most – our students – and to creating the best possible environment for everyone who is part of the OCSA community,” Shaffer said.