An L.A. Count Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that the Los Angeles Unified School District (L.A.U.S.D) is restricted from laying off teachers from three under-performing middle schools.

The schools in question, Samuel Gompers, Edwin Markham and John H. Liechty, have the worst performance records across the district and had a lawsuit filed on their behalf back in February. The lawsuit alleges that if layoffs were carried out at these schools, the students would be denied their legally guaranteed right to an education.

The three schools in question experienced an astounding half to three-quarters of their teachers laid off last year.

The decision by the court has been praised as historic.

“This sets a precedent to the state and school districts that they can’t balance their budgets on the back of low-income children of color,” said Director of Impact Litigation at Public Counsel Catherine Lhamon.