Poway Unified Asks Parent to Change Her Daughter's Race So the District Can Test Her

Second time in three years a Black family has been told the path to a full evaluation runs through the race box.

SAN DIEGO, October 26, 2026. At 12:16 p.m. today, after an IEP meeting at Rancho Bernardo High School earlier in the day, a Poway Unified School District school psychologist called parent Frida Brunzell and asked her to temporarily change her daughter's race on school records so the district could administer a cognitive assessment.

"I laughed," Brunzell said. "Then I asked, how do I do that?"

It is the second time in three years. The first time, Brunzell walked into the district office herself and changed her daughter's listed race to get the full psychoeducational evaluation the district would not give her as a Black student. That evaluation revealed a bright student with significant learning needs that had gone unidentified for years. Brunzell's son received his full assessment years earlier only because she had marked "other" on his enrollment form.

Districts point to Larry P. v. Riles, the 1979 federal ruling on IQ testing of Black students. The California Department of Education's current guidance, issued September 14, 2022, confirms the injunction bars standardized intelligence tests for identifying Black students as having an intellectual disability or placing them in those classes. It does not excuse a district from evaluating a Black student in every area of suspected disability, and no law asks a parent to change a child's race to get one.

"They follow their district's processes and procedures, which are not always in line with the law," said Jennifer Dahlquist Ramirez, M.Ed., founder of JenEd®, who supports the family. "Black children across California are not getting comprehensive assessments. White children get the cognitive testing. Black children do not."

Dahlquist Ramirez presented on the misreading of Larry P. at the California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) 10th annual conference, using this family's experience as a case study, and at CABSE's summer conference earlier this year on the same issue. The call to Brunzell came after her most recent presentation. She is now in discussions with superintendents across California about the issue.

"Many districts are interested in doing better work," Dahlquist Ramirez said. "No, we are not changing her race. We are asking for a comprehensive evaluation. Nobody needs to make our beautiful Black babies white. That is a hill I will die on."

The family has requested a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation, including a full cognitive assessment across all processing areas, due by November 22.

About JenEd®

JenEd® Comprehensive Education Services, LLC, founded in 2005, serves families, educators and districts across California and beyond. Jennifer Dahlquist Ramirez, M.Ed., is an educator and advocate with thirty-three years in education.