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Omar Sepulveda steps quietly to the front of a science class at Ganesha High School and asks for the students鈥� attention. Holding up a thick textbook, he asks: 鈥淒oes everyone have this book, Earth Science? Does anyone not have this book? No one is going to get in trouble.鈥� Most of the 30 or so students respond with a blank stare. A few nod their heads, affirming that they do have the text.

Finally, two students raise their hands.

Following the well-rehearsed procedure, Sepulveda takes the students鈥� names and pulls their teacher, Jennifer Watrous, over near the doorway for a few questions. 鈥淚s there any way we can take care of this right now?鈥� he whispers. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 leave until we see the books in the students鈥� possession.鈥�

Watrous wants to cooperate. She sends one of the students to the library, where textbooks are assigned, and the other to the classroom next door, where she thinks he left his book. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more convenient for him to use mine in class,鈥� she explains. 鈥淛uan has been told to go get his book. I can鈥檛 hold his hand. He鈥檚 15.鈥�

After visiting a couple more classrooms, Sepulveda returns to Watrous鈥� class. Both students hold up their books. 鈥淪ometimes students fall through the cracks and nobody notices,鈥� explains Sepulveda, adding that students who have recently transferred to new schools are usually the ones without books.

A former high school history teacher from Colombia, Sepulveda conducts similar textbook inspections throughout Los Angeles County as part of a landmark legal settlement against the state that aims to improve the quality of education in some of California鈥檚 neediest schools.

In 2000, Sweetie Williams and his son Eliezer 鈥淓li鈥� Williams鈥攚ho graduated from high school last June鈥攂ecame the lead plaintiffs in Williams v. California. In the class action, they charged that the conditions of the school Eli attended in the San Francisco Unified School District were 鈥渄ismal and unacceptable,鈥� according to a statement the elder Williams wrote in 2004 when the case was settled. Restrooms were dirty, toilets didn鈥檛 work, fences were rusty, and many teachers didn鈥檛 even assign homework because students didn鈥檛 have books to take home with them, he added.

鈥淓very child should have the opportunity to go to a school where they are given the basic materials and facilities that all children need to learn,鈥� Sweetie Williams wrote, summing up the case and describing the reasoning behind the inspections that are now mandatory for hundreds of California schools.

The site visits like the one at Pomona鈥檚 Ganesha High, which Sepulveda completed with the help of four other team members, are just part of the detailed process through which officials monitor the physical and academic conditions of the schools targeted in the lawsuit.

The settlement reached between the plaintiffs and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also stipulated that each county office of education, which by law is responsible for supervising the school districts within its borders, conduct facility inspections and monitor whether teachers are properly certified, especially if more than 20 percent of their students are English-language learners.

Most teachers here at Ganesha High take the visits in stride, acting as if the inspections are just a routine part of the day鈥攁s they are for the inspectors, most of whom are former educators or school district personnel. 鈥淭eachers are naturally territorial, but we鈥檙e not there to evaluate the instruction,鈥� says Marvin Williams, the leader of the team at Ganesha High. He鈥檚 no relation to Sweetie and Eli Williams, but he sometimes jokingly introduces himself as the plaintiff in the case, just to break the ice.

While all 58 county education offices are in charge of the inspections, no office has a heavier load than that of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, which is responsible for the inspections at 598 schools in 39 school districts.

All California schools must meet the standards in the laws known as the 鈥�Williams legislation,鈥� which were passed following the settlement. The inspections, though, are required only at the state鈥檚 lowest-performing schools: those in the bottom third of the 2003 Academic Performance Index, the state鈥檚 annual measure of academic achievement. This school year, more than 2,100 schools met that criteria.

鈥淲hen we were first told that we had this enormous responsibility, we were all taken aback with, 鈥楳y gosh, how are we going to get this done?鈥� 鈥� says Darline P. Robles, the Los Angeles County superintendent.

Robles responded by inviting schools in the county to participate in a round of voluntary inspections, just so school officials and their staff members and consultants hired to do the work would get an idea of what was ahead of them.

鈥淲e wanted to develop clear and consistent methods prior to full implementation,鈥� Robles says. 鈥淎nd we wanted to be sure that we would learn from the experience.鈥�

By all accounts, the inspections are thorough.

Shining a small flashlight along the floor in the kitchen at Lincoln Elementary School, a couple of miles from Ganesha High, inspector Roger Chang looks for small white specks, which would indicate roaches. He doesn鈥檛 find any of the droppings.

He notes that even though one meal has been served this morning, the stainless-steel countertops are clean and clear of food debris.

Outside, Chang gazes up at the trees in a courtyard to see whether they are cut back from the rooftops, thereby eliminating an easy access point for rats and squirrels. The original complaint alleged that school cafeterias were infested with rats, mice, and cockroaches.

As he enters classrooms, he looks first at the ceiling to check whether tiles are missing or discolored鈥攁 likely sign of leaks. He checks to see if children鈥檚 artwork has been mistakenly hung from sprinkler heads, and picks up the phone to make sure there is a dial tone. In the restrooms, he flushes the toilets, checks whether paper-towel dispensers are stocked, and turns the faucets on.

鈥淚鈥檝e been in restrooms where there鈥檚 so much graffiti, you鈥檇 be afraid to go in,鈥� says Chang, who so far appears impressed by conditions at Lincoln.

Built in 1936, the 620-student school is registered as a local historical landmark. While its high ceilings, large windows, and hardwood floors are attractive, the potential for facility problems are greater in an older building like this one.

In a boys鈥� restroom, a urinal continues to run after it鈥檚 flushed. Chang informs a Pomona school district official with him, who immediately gets on his cellphone to report the problem.

In one classroom, he finds stained ceiling tiles. The stains, he learns, are due to a drip from the air-conditioning system. In another room, a fire-extinguisher inspection tag wasn鈥檛 properly punched鈥攁nother point he鈥檒l enter on his report.

These are just some of the more than 50 items that Chang, a former building manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, must check every time he inspects a school.

But Chang says he can tell that Lincoln Elementary鈥檚 principal, Jorge Amancio, expects teachers to contribute to keeping the school clean at the end of each day.

鈥淎t home, we want our living room, we want our kitchen spotless,鈥� Amancio says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same with the classroom.鈥�

Chang says that while Lincoln鈥攚hich ultimately earns the top score of 鈥済ood鈥� on his report鈥攎ight be the 鈥渙ne of the cleanest, [most] fully functioning鈥� schools he鈥檚 evaluated, the 33,700-student Pomona district also tends to earn high marks under the Williams settlement.

The fact that the district volunteered to be part of the pilot inspection process shortly after the settlement probably has contributed to the district鈥檚 good ratings, Robles says.

鈥淭hey want to make this work,鈥� Chang adds.

Other county superintendents also report cooperation from their districts.

鈥淲e anticipated that there would be some grinding of teeth,鈥� says Peter G. Mehas, the superintendent of the Fresno County Office of Education, which oversees 34 districts and conducted inspections at 118 schools. 鈥淏ut overall, we鈥檝e been extremely pleased.鈥�

It appears as if Williams v. California has spurred improvements statewide, according to a recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, which represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

鈥淭ens of thousands of students have new books and materials. School facilities are being inspected and repaired. Districts are correcting teacher misassignments and vacancies,鈥� concluded the report, released Dec. 15.

Maisie Chin, the lead organizer and director of Community Asset Development Redefining Education, or CADRE, a nonprofit community organization in South Los Angeles, adds that the complaint process required by the Williams legislation has also given parents in her disadvantaged neighborhood a new sense of confidence.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to create a political experience for parents,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for parents to recognize how much influence they have.鈥�

But despite the 鈥渢angible results鈥� across the state noted in the ACLU report, concerns about implementation of the settlement remain.

Last April, CADRE organized a 鈥渄ay of action,鈥� in which the group helped two dozen parents file complaints with the 736,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District. The district鈥檚 response to many of the complaints was to rebut the points made by the parents, Chin says.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still looking for a little more earnestness on their part,鈥� Chin says of district officials. 鈥淭he message we were pushing is that, 鈥榊ou need us. You need our eyes and ears.鈥� 鈥�

Renee Jackson, an executive liaison between Los Angeles Unified and the county office of education, says an investigation is conducted for each complaint.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 haphazardly say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e wrong,鈥� or 鈥榊ou鈥檙e right,鈥� 鈥� she says, but adds that sometimes parents complain about issues not covered by the legal settlement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a learning process.鈥�

To help districts鈥攁nd county offices鈥攃omply with the requirements of the Williams legislation, the California state budget for fiscal 2005 included more than $600 million for instructional materials, facility repairs, and inspections. The settlement also authorized a total of $800 million in future years for emergency repairs in low-achieving schools.

One problem identified by the ACLU report, however, is that not enough districts are taking advantage of those funds, says Brooks M. Allen, a staff lawyer at the ACLU of Southern California and the author of the report.

While the standards required by the legislation seem to focus on basic needs, Allen says the message goes much further. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not saying that this is all students need,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut at least this ensures equal conditions.鈥�

Still, Robles sees validation of the Williams settlement in a recent study by EdSource, a Mountain View, Calif.-based think tank.

Titled 鈥淪imilar Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better?鈥� the survey focused on 257 California elementary schools. It showed that an adequate supply of textbooks and instructional materials, strong management of facilities, and experienced teachers鈥攖he three pillars of the lawsuit鈥攚ere among the characteristics that can make a positive difference in the achievement of schools serving poor children.

While most school leaders in Pomona and other districts agree with the intent of the legal settlement, some feel the inspections have added a new burden to their already busy schedules.

鈥淪omeone said to me, 鈥榊ou know, Mike, it seems like you鈥檙e an event planner,鈥� 鈥� jokes Michael Hernandez, the principal at Ganesha High. Along with the federal No Child Left Behind Act requirements, accreditation visits, and other state monitoring efforts, the inspections amount to one more demand to prepare for, he says.

鈥淚 think my colleagues would agree that there is no reason why all these accountability programs couldn鈥檛 be woven into one visit,鈥� he says.

Robles, the Los Angeles County schools superintendent, says she realizes the lives of principals are getting more complicated all the time. She says that when possible, textbook and facility inspections should be combined. Teacher-assignment data already is collected through a report from the schools.

But even if the inspectors are sometimes thought of as an intrusion, the teenage students at Ganesha High hardly acknowledge the visitors, who stroll from class to class, making notes on a clipboard. Some inspectors are even young enough to blend into the high school crowd.

Younger students, though, are often more curious. 鈥淭he little ones are so excited to show you their books,鈥� says Elvira Hernandez, an inspector who joined Sepulveda on the Ganesha tour.

Still, some aren鈥檛 sure what to make of these strangers in the hallways, says Hernandez, who tells this story: 鈥淎 little girl came up to me saying, 鈥極h, Miss, Miss, I was so afraid. I thought you would be wearing black glasses and a suit,鈥� 鈥� Hernandez laughs. 鈥淟ike 鈥楳en in Black.鈥� 鈥�