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# LAUSD Has a Human Relations Commission. But What Does It Do?
September 24 2026
Written by Avrohom Moshe.
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LAUSD - Los Angeles Unified has no shortage of committees, commissions and advisory groups. Each has a mission. Each occupies a place within a sprawling public institution. And each, presumably, exists because somebody decided its work was important.
But every public body should eventually have to answer a simple question: What difference are you making?
That question deserves to be asked of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Human Relations Commission.
LAUSD describes the commission as a conduit between the community and the Board of Education. Its commissioners represent board members, the superintendent and community partners, and its meetings are open to the public.
The district’s rules give the commission an important purpose: helping the Board identify stakeholder needs and address problems. The rules also provide for periodic evaluation of the commission’s performance and effectiveness.
Those are not ceremonial responsibilities. They describe a body that should be able to demonstrate how its work benefits students, families and communities.
That responsibility matters. LAUSD’s Human Relations, Diversity & Equity office addresses issues including bullying prevention, healthy relationships and creating safe and affirming environments. These are consequential issues affecting real students. They deserve consequential oversight.
Yet the public should be able to see much more clearly what the Human Relations Commission is accomplishing.
The district’s commission webpage lists proposed meetings in January and March during the 2025-26 school year as having “No Quorum.” Missing a quorum does not, by itself, prove that a commission is ineffective. Appointed bodies encounter scheduling problems. But it raises a legitimate question about whether the structure is functioning as intended.
And that leads to more important questions.
What recommendations has the commission made to the Board of Education? Which were adopted? Which were rejected? What district policies or practices changed because of its work? What problems did commissioners identify, and how did LAUSD respond?
Most importantly, what evidence demonstrates that students are better served because this commission exists?
Parents and taxpayers should not have to search through years of agendas and minutes to find the answer.
LAUSD should publish a concise annual accountability report detailing commissioner attendance, vacancies, major recommendations, Board responses and measurable outcomes. That would move the discussion away from what the commission is supposed to accomplish and toward what it actually accomplishes.
Greater transparency would also protect the commission itself. If commissioners are doing valuable work, show it. If they have made important recommendations that district leadership ignored, show that too. And if the commission lacks the authority, participation or institutional support necessary to fulfill its mission, acknowledge the problem and fix it.
There is a larger issue here. Government institutions too often measure activity rather than accomplishment.
A meeting was held. An agenda was published. A presentation was delivered. Minutes were approved. Another meeting was scheduled.
The machinery keeps moving. But activity is not the same as effectiveness.
That distinction is particularly important for a commission devoted to human relations. Los Angeles schools serve students from extraordinarily diverse racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Bullying, prejudice, discrimination and questions of belonging are not abstract policy debates. They affect children and families.
The Human Relations Commission therefore should be more than another name on LAUSD’s organizational chart. It should be a visible and credible forum where difficult concerns can be raised, communities know they will be heard, and recommendations can be followed from proposal to district response.
That requires transparency. It requires consistent participation. And it requires district leadership to demonstrate that the commission’s work is being taken seriously.
The Board of Education should demand a straightforward public accounting.
Not another mission statement. Not another explanation of what the commission is supposed to do.
Show Los Angeles what it has done. Show the recommendations. Show the attendance. Show the district’s responses. Show the outcomes.
The goal should not be to eliminate a commission simply because its accomplishments are insufficiently visible. The goal should be to determine whether it is fulfilling the purpose LAUSD established for it and, if it is not, determine what must change.
The Human Relations Commission has a mission worth taking seriously. LAUSD should demonstrate that the institution carrying out that mission is effective, engaged and accountable.
Because when a public institution asks communities to trust that an advisory commission is representing them, “Trust us” is not enough.
The public deserves the evidence.
*(**Avrohom Moshe** is a California-based civic affairs writer and public policy analyst focused on government accountability, fiscal responsibility, and public safety. He also writes on issues affecting the Jewish community, including combating antisemitism and advancing civic engagement.)*
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