School Committee of Hudson v. Bd. of Educ.

• Decision Date: 22 March 2007
• Citation: 448 Mass. 565,863 N.E.2d 22
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
• Parties: SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF HUDSON & others<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> v. BOARD OF EDUCATION & others.<SMALL><SUP>2</SUP></SMALL>

863 N.E.2d 22

448 Mass. 565

SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF HUDSON & others¹ v. BOARD OF EDUCATION & others.²

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Middlesex.

Argued February 5, 2007.

Decided March 22, 2007.

Kay H. Hodge, Boston (Geoffrey R. Bok with her) for the plaintiffs.

Jane L. Willoughby, Assistant Attorney General, for Board of Education & another.

Lawrence G. Green, Boston (Susan E. Stenger & Anatoly Darov with him) for Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School.

The following submitted briefs for amici curiae:

Stephen J. Finnegan, Boston & Michael J. Long for Massachusetts Association of School Committees & another.

John D. Hanify, Kathleen E. Cross, Boston & Jonathan D.H. Lamb for Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.

Present: GREANEY, IRELAND, SPINA, & CORDY, JJ.

GREANEY, J.

On February 24, 2004, the defendant Board of Education (board) granted the defendant Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA), a charter under G.L. c. 71, § 89, to operate a "Commonwealth charter school."³ AMSA would draw its students from the towns of Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, and Clinton. Pursuant to G.L. c. 71, § 89 (g),⁴ a copy of AMSA's "final application" for a charter had been sent to the school committees of these towns for their review and comment. Each of the four school committees submitted written comments, some extensive and detailed, in opposition to the final application. After the approval of a charter for AMSA, three of the four school committees, the school committees of Hudson, Marlborough, and Maynard (plaintiffs), commenced an action in the Superior Court against the board, the Commissioner of Education (commissioner), and AMSA seeking judicial review of the board's decision to grant AMSA a charter (1) through certiorari under G.L. c. 249, § 4; (2) under the Administrative Procedures Act, G.L. c. 30A; or (3) by means of a declaratory judgment under G.L. c. 231A. On cross motions for judgment on the pleadings, a Superior Court judge concluded that the plaintiffs had no right to judicial review under these statutes, and final judgment entered in favor of the defendants. The plaintiffs appealed, and we granted their application for direct appellate review. We affirm the judgment.

1. To establish context, we first set out the pertinent statutory provisions and regulations. As part of the Education Reform Act of 1993, the Legislature enacted G.L. c. 71, § 89, the charter school statute. See St.1993, c. 71, § 55. As previously noted, the statute provides for two types of charter schools: Commonwealth charter schools and Horace Mann charter schools. G.L. c. 71, § 89 (a) and (b). Both types of charter schools are considered public schools, see id., and, generally speaking, are established to encourage innovative educational practices. Id. at § 89 (d).⁵

Commonwealth charter schools operate under a charter granted by the board, are managed by a board of trustees ("deemed to be public agents authorized by the [C]ommonwealth to supervise and control the charter school"), and operate independently of the local school committees for the districts in which the charter schools are located. Id. at § 89 (a). The charter under which a Horace Mann charter school operates is also granted by the board, but must be "approved by the local school committee in which the school is located and by the local collective bargaining agent [teachers' union]." Id. at § 89 (b). In addition, Horace Mann charter schools are operated and managed by boards of trustees that are independent of local school committees. Id. A member of the school committee may serve on the board of trustees. Id.

The charter school statute authorizes the operation of only a limited number of charter schools.⁶ Id. at § 89 (i). When granted, a charter authorizes the charter school to operate for a period of five years. Id. at § 89 (kk).

In Commonwealth charter schools, the boards of trustees, in consultation with the teachers, determine the curriculum and budget. Id. at § 89 (x). However, the curriculum, like other aspects of the charter school, must comply with the "provisions of law regulating other public schools," id. at § 89 (t) (exempting only certain provisions concerning teacher tenure and teacher demotion or dismissal). These provisions include compliance with G.L. c. 71A, which pertains to English language learners, and with G.L. c. 71B, which pertains to the provision of special education services. G.L. c. 71, § 89 (t). In addition, all charter school students "shall be required to meet the same performance standards, testing and portfolio requirements set by the board of education for students in other public schools." Id. at § 89 (w).

Substantial discretion is extended to the board in the process of granting a charter. The board is directed to "establish the information needed in an application for the approval of a charter school," provided that the application contains certain specified information.⁷ Id. at § 89 (f). The board is charged with "mak[ing] the final determination on granting charter school status and may condition charters on the applicant's taking certain actions or maintaining certain conditions." Id. at § 89 (i). The board may revoke a school's charter if the school "has not fulfilled any conditions imposed by the board in connection with the grant of the charter or [if] the school has violated any provision of its charter." Id. at § 89 (kk). The board may also place a charter school on "probationary status to allow the implementation of a remedial plan after which, if said plan is unsuccessful, the charter may be summarily revoked." Id. The board is charged with "develop[ing] procedures and guidelines for revocation and renewal of a school's charter," provided that, in the case of a Horace Mann charter school, the school committee and teachers' union vote in support of renewing its charter; and, in the case of a Commonwealth charter school, the board of trustees "has documented in a manner approved by the board . . . that said [C]ommonwealth charter school has provided models for replication and best practices." Id. at § 89 (ll).

The charter school statute and regulations promulgated by the Department of Education (department) establish the application process. Under the statute, a charter school comes into existence on the grant of a charter. G.L. c. 71, § 89 (a), (b). The board, subject to certain statutory prerequisites, see note 7, supra, determines the content of the applications, see G.L. c. 71, § 89 (f), and makes the final decision whether to grant a charter, see id. at § 89 (i). The statute provides a general timetable governing the process. "Applications to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the board each year by November 15," and the board "shall review the applications and grant new charters in February of the following year." Id. at § 89 (h). Applications are to be submitted to the board and are to be "filed with the local school committee for the school district in which the charter school is to be located." Id. at § 89 (g). Further, "[b]efore final approval to establish a [C]ommonwealth charter school the board of education shall hold a public hearing on said applications, and solicit and review comments on the application from the local school committee for the school district in which said charter school is to be located." Id.

The department's regulations and guidelines track the statutory provisions and more particularly describe the application process. The application process begins in August of the year prior to the year in which the charter school plans to open if granted a charter, and culminates in the grant of a charter the following February. 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.04(1)-(3) (2005). In August,⁸ prospective applicants must file a letter of intent with the department's charter school office. Generally speaking, the prospectus describes the basic elements of the applicant's plan and includes a variety of legal certifications. The department, however, provides a detailed description of what must be contained in the prospectus, provides an "outline" or template, and limits the document to twenty pages, exclusive of the cover page and specified documents and limited attachments (concerning the qualifications of the founding group members). Thereafter, reviewers from inside and outside the department review and evaluate each prospectus. Based on these advisory evaluations, the commissioner selects applicant groups to be invited to submit final applications. 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.04(1).

As noted, a final application must be submitted to the board by November 15. G.L. c. 71, § 89 (h). Copies must be sent to "the superintendent of the school districts from which the applicant intends to draw students," 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.04(3)(b), and to the local school committees, see G.L. c. 71, § 89 (g). In general terms, final applications must contain a detailed discussion of the proposed charter school's mission statement, educational philosophy, curriculum, assessment system, organizational plan, and plan for serving special student populations and providing other student services. See G.L. c. 71, § 89 (f); 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.05(1), (2) (2005). As with the case of prospectuses, the department provides a detailed description of what must be contained in the final application, provides an "outline" or template, and limits the document to fifty pages of text and thirty-five pages of "required and optional attachments." Prospectuses and final applications are required to be submitted "in accordance with the schedule, application form, and guidelines established by the [d]epartment." 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.04(1).

From late November to January, local superintendents and school committees are invited to submit written comments concerning a final application. See G.L. c. 71, § 89 (g); 603 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.04(3)(b). During this time, the board and the...