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Based on a true story, the film describes how L.A.'s public schools treat Mexican-American students in 1968, with a mixture of negligence, apathy, and occasional cruelty. Graduation rates are low, students caught speaking Spanish in class are paddled on the spot, they are denied access to bathrooms at lunch. Paula Crisostomo is smart and gets good grades, but when she attends a student leadership conference at a wealthy Westside facility, she begins to see the bigger cultural picture. With inspiration from a sympathetic young teacher, Sal Castro, Paula becomes a major force in organizing huge walkouts from five East L.A. schools. Based on true events, honor student Paula Crisostomo organizes a peaceful walkout to protest discrimination against Mexican-Americans in her school system.