Schools v. Bd. of Trs.

• Decision Date: 01 July 2015
• Citation: 130 A.D.3d 638,13 N.Y.S.3d 219,2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 05690
• Parties: In the Matter of WILLIAMSBURG AND GREENPOINT PARENTS: OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!, et al., appellants, v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, STATE UNIVERSITY Of NEW YORK, respondent-respondent, Citizens of the World Charter School New York 1, et al., intervenors-respondents-respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

130 A.D.3d 638

13 N.Y.S.3d 219

2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 05690

In the Matter of WILLIAMSBURG AND GREENPOINT PARENTS: OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!, et al., appellants,

v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, STATE UNIVERSITY Of NEW YORK, respondent-respondent,Citizens of the World Charter School New York 1, et al., intervenors-respondents-respondents.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

July 1, 2015.

Arthur Z. Schwartz, New York, N.Y., for appellants.

Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, New York, N.Y. (Cecilia C. Chang and Claude S. Platton of counsel), for respondent-respondent.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, N.Y. (Jay P. Lefkowitz, Devora W. Allon, and Samara L. Penn of counsel), for intervenors-respondents-respondents.

MARK C. DILLON, J.P., JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, JEFFREY A. COHEN, and JOSEPH J. MALTESE, JJ.

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, dated June 25, 2012, approving the issuance of charters to Citizens of the World Charter School New York 1 and Citizens of the World Charter School New York 2, the petitioners appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Partnow, J.), dated March 5, 2013, which denied the amended petition and dismissed the proceeding.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, with one bill of costs payable to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

On January 3, 2012, the Charter Schools Institute (hereinafter the Institute), an arm of the State University of New York (hereinafter SUNY), issued a request for proposals for new charter schools in the State. The Institute's employees serve as staff to the SUNY Board of Trustees (hereinafter SUNY Trustees) on matters pertaining to charter schools.

On January 19, 2012, Citizens of the World Charter Schools (hereinafter CWCS) responded with letters of intent that it would apply for two charter schools in Community School District 14 in Brooklyn. On February 29, 2012, CWCS submitted applications for the two proposed charter schools. Both the letters of intent and the applications detailed and provided support for CWCS's community outreach, including numerous meetings with parents and other stakeholders, an online survey for parents, and informational materials sent to local organizations, pre-schools, and Head Start programs. The applications contained information regarding solicitation of community input and incorporation of comments into the proposals. They provided a target enrollment of 126 students per school in the first year and attached more than 250 petitions from parents expressing interest in sending their children to the proposed schools.

The Institute posted on its website a list of all active proposals and notified public schools in the area and the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education(hereinafter NYCDOE) of its applications. The NYCDOE held a public hearing on the applications on April 19, 2012. On May 22, 2012, the Chancellor of the NYCDOE recommended the schools for approval. The Institute issued findings and recommendations dated June 15, 2012, recommending the schools for approval. On June 25, 2012, the SUNY Trustees voted to authorize the charters, finding that the proposals rigorously demonstrated that the applicant conducted the required public outreach to solicit community input and address comments, and the proposals met the requirements of the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998, as amended (hereinafter the Charter Schools Act). On July 16, 2012, the Board of Regents approved the charters.

The petitioners, a group of parents of children in public schools in Community School District 14 and an organization they founded to oppose the subject charter schools, commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review the SUNY Trustees' determination authorizing the charters. The amended petition alleged that the SUNY Trustees authorized the charters in violation of Education Law §§ 2851(2)(q), 2852(9–a)(b)(ii), and 2852(2)(a), in that CWCS failed to demonstrate adequate community support, outreach, or input, and therefore, the charters should be voided. The SUNY Trustees answered the amended petition, and the charter schools intervened in the proceeding...