LAWSUIT ALLEGING THE FAILURE TO PROVIDE SOUND BASIC EDUCATION CAN PROCEED, BUT ONLY WITH RESPECT TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND SYRACUSE. ​

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Wilson, determined a lawsuit alleging school districts’ failure to provide the sound basic education guaranteed by the state constitution could proceed, but only with respect to school districts in New York City and Syracuse. The attempt to state causes of action statewide was rejected. The complaint must specifically allege the failure district by district. A second lawsuit, alleging failure to properly fund the schools in New York City, brought by different plaintiffs [Aristy-Farer], was dismissed in its entirety:

The NYSER [New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights] plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged deficient inputs and outputs with respect to New York City and, although in less detail, Syracuse, that give defendants adequate notice of what a potential remedy could require of them. In that regard, the NYSER complaint alleges deficient inputs (a lack of qualified teachers and principals, low levels of support staff, outdated curricula, unsuccessful English as a Second Language programs, overly large class sizes, lack of basic materials such as textbooks and chalk, a reduction in after-school and summer programs, and inadequate and unclean buildings and facilities) with respect to Syracuse and New York City, with some degree of specificity. The complaint further alleges deficient outputs with respect to those school districts (poor standardized test proficiency, high failure and drop-out rates, poor English proficiency, and inability to meet basic requirements to gain admission to gain admission to City or State colleges because their high schools do not offer basic course requirements).

The complaint also alleges a causal link between inadequate State funding and the failure of those two school districts to provide a sound basic education. … [G]oing forward, plaintiffs here will need to adduce evidence at trial proving, on the basis of current data, that the State has breached its constitutional obligation to provide a sound basic education to students in public schools. Should plaintiffs be successful, it will be up to the State to craft an appropriate response, subject to judicial review, because the courts have “neither the authority, nor the ability, nor the will, to micromanage education financing” … . Aristy-Farer v State of New York, 2017 NY Slip Op 05175, CtApp 6-27-17