The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is a school district in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

that serves most of the city of Santa Ana and small portions of the cities of Irvine,

Tustin Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community ...

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

and

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...

. Although its geographic size is only , it is the 12th largest school district in the state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with approximately 44,102 students. The school district employs approximately 4,500 staff, and its operating budget is $483.1 million.

Ethnic makeup

*93.1% Latino *2.8% White *3.0% Asian/Pacific Islander/Filipino *0.5% African American *0.1% Native American *0.5% Other

Schools

Elementary schools

Intermediate schools

High schools

* Century High School * Cesar E. Chavez High School * Godinez Fundamental High School * Lorin Griset Academy * Middle College High School *

Saddleback High School Saddleback High School is a six-year IB secondary school located in Santa Ana, California, United States, and is part of the Santa Ana Unified School District. The school was established in 1967. Its mascot is the roadrunner, and its colors are ...

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Original members of the surf band The Chantays * Barry Asher, professional bowler * To ...

* Segerstrom High School * Valley High School

Alternative Schools & Programs

Community Day High School & Intermediate School
*Independent Study Program
Mitchell Child Development CenterCal SAFE

Police Department

The Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department is the 2nd largest school police agency in California with 30 sworn officers, 41 civilian safety officers, 6 dispatchers, and 3 full-time administrative personnel. The department is the primary law enforcement agency to the school district. The Santa Ana School Police Department is an approved law enforcement agency in accordance to Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.). Santa Ana School Police officers get their peace officer status from California Penal Code, Section 830.32(

Charter Dispute with OCSA

In early 2019, charter-holder Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) threatened not to renew the Orange County School of the Arts, Orange County School of the Arts' (OCSA) charter over a claim of an alleged misallocation of $19,000,000 in Special Education funding as well as an additional claim that OCSA's existing admissions practices were discriminatory and resulted in a student body did not represent demographics of Santa Ana's largely

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

neighborhoods. Principal Dr. Ralph Opacic defended OCSA by saying,

"We are the Orange County School of the Arts, not the Santa Ana School of the Arts. The blame for not serving more Santa Ana students is misplaced. Santa Ana Unified should be working harder to provide more arts-rich experiences for kids, so they discover and follow that pathway"

In early 2020, OCSA brought their case to the Orange County Board of Education (OCBE), and asked for the OCBE to renew their charter instead, and on March 4, 2020, The Orange County Board of Education voted to renew the school's five year charter, resulting in the forfeiture of SAUSD's governing rights over OCSA as a school in their district. SAUSD was to remain governing over OCSA until June 30, 2020, and on July 1, the Orange County Board of Education gained control over the school. As of the 2020-2021 school year, OCSA has instituted new admissions requirements involving "auditions" being replaced with "placement activities" to determine if potential students are a fit for the conservatories they have applied to. If there are too many applications accepted, an admissions lottery will be instituted.

References

External links

* {{Authority control School districts in Orange County, California Education in Santa Ana, California