The California Reparations Task Force hopes that its final report and recommendations will be "an example for not only other states but this nation as a whole..." Berkeley Unified School District is among those hoping to take its cues from the state task force.
But because the state task force’s recommendations advantage or disadvantage students based on race and ancestry, the district would be wise not to follow that example.
Berkeley Unified formed its own reparations task force "in response to the legacy of the system of enslaving Black people." Berkeley schools have a tenuous claim to that legacy—California was admitted as a free state, and Berkeley Unified was the first major school district to voluntarily desegregate its schools. The state task force’s report even cites Berkeley Unified policies as a model for improving access to public schools, lauding the district’s elementary school admission process that uses "diversity categories" to assign students. The report notes the high racial integration across the district that resulted from this admission process.