School district alters policy to settle suit

The Capistrano Unified School District has agreed to settle a lawsuit by eliminating references to race and ethnicity in its attendance boundary policy and delaying indefinitely a decision on who will attend a new high school.

The lawsuit had been brought in part by parents in the Talega area of San Clemente whose children were to be reassigned to San Juan Hills High School, set to open in September, once La Pata Avenue was opened.

Under the terms of Monday’s settlement, no final decision on the matter will be made until the completion of the avenue, which, according to a district statement, “may not be completed until well into the next decade.”