LAWSUIT ALLEGING CONSTITUTIONALLY DEFICIENT FUNDING FOR CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.
The Fourth Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Troutman, determined a lawsuit brought by a charter school network and students (infant plaintiffs), alleging deficient funding for charter-school facilities violated the Education Article and equal protection, should have been dismissed in its entirety. Although the network was deemed to have the capacity to sue under the Education Article, it did not have standing to sue because the article protects students not schools. The infant plaintiffs’ cause of action under the Education Article was deficient because it did not plead a district-wide funding problem. The disparity in facilities funding between charter and public schools was deemed to have a rational basis. The “disparate impact” cause of action failed to allege discriminatory intent. Brown v State of New York, 2016 NY Slip Op 06566, 4th Dept 10-7-16
EDUCATION-SCHOOL LAW (LAWSUIT ALLEGING CONSTITUTIONALLY DEFICIENT FUNDING FOR CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED IN ITS ENTIRETY)/CHARTER SCHOOLS (LAWSUIT ALLEGING CONSTITUTIONALLY DEFICIENT FUNDING FOR CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED IN ITS ENTIRETY)