蜜桃影视

A New York appellate court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a case brought by a group of parents arguing that teacher tenure laws and seniority-based job protections harm their children鈥檚 education should go forward.

The decision dealt the state Education Department, New York City, and New York teachers unions a third defeat in their years-long attempt to have the high-profile lawsuit dismissed.

In upholding a lower court decision, the four-judge panel rejected arguments that the parents lacked standing to bring the complaint, which alleges that provisions of state education law relating to teacher discipline and dismissal saddle children with ineffective teachers, depriving them of their right to a 鈥渟ound, basic education鈥� under the New York State Constitution.

The case, Wright v. New York, was originally filed in 2014 by nine parents, aided by lawyers from the advocacy group Partnership for Educational Justice. The organization has pursued similar legal challenges in New Jersey and Minnesota. The New York City Parents Union, a student advocacy group founded in 2011 by Mona Davids, is also involved in the case.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision from the New York appeals court is an incredible victory for students鈥� rights,鈥� said Alissa Bernstein, the partnership鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淲hile the defendants have repeatedly tried to delay and dispose of this case, today鈥檚 decision affirms the fact that the brave parents and children who brought this suit deserve their day in court. The fight for educational justice will continue so that we can give our students the education they are guaranteed under the state constitution.鈥�

Among the parent plaintiffs is Tauana Goins, whose daughter鈥檚 teacher at Public School 106 鈥斅燿ubbed the notorious because it had no books, art, or gym classes 鈥斅燼llegedly bullied the girl and called her 鈥渁 loser.鈥� The Queens mom said she tried unsuccessfully to have her daughter reassigned, but the child was given the same teacher for first, second and fifth grades.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not anti-teacher,鈥� Goins told 蜜桃影视 in 2015. 鈥淲e just want effective teachers and we want tenure to be performanced-based.鈥�

The defendants, who include New York City鈥檚 United Federation of Teachers, argued the lawsuit should be tossed out, particularly after the state reformed teacher job protections in 2015 鈥� including mandating a time frame under which school boards had to decide whether to fire teachers consistently rated as ineffective, and increasing from three years to four the length of the probationary period leading up to tenure.

鈥淲e are disappointed in this procedural decision by an intermediate court. Judges around the nation have dismissed claims similar to those filed in the Davids-Wright case, and we are confident as the case goes forward that New York courts will ultimately recognize the importance to students and schools of reasonable due process for teachers,鈥� Adam Ross, the UFT鈥檚 general counsel, said in a statement.

Jay Lefkowitz, the plaintiff鈥檚 lead attorney, has said the revisions were minor and not enough to alter a system that leaves poor teachers in the classroom. State Supreme Court Justice Philip Minardo agreed in 2015, calling the changes 鈥渕arginal鈥� and 鈥渋nsufficient鈥� as a reason for dismissal.

Lefkowitz said in a statement Wednesday that the plaintiffs were pleased the Appellate Court, Second Department affirmed Minardo鈥檚 decision, deciding 鈥渢o allow this lawsuit to proceed and has once again rejected the effort by the state, the city, and the teachers unions to stop this lawsuit.鈥�

鈥�New York鈥檚 constitution guarantees all children in the state a sound, basic education, and the current teacher employment statutes are simply failing our children by keeping ineffective teachers in our public schools,鈥� said Lefkowitz, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis. 鈥淭his decision will finally allow us to get the evidence from the state that will vindicate the rights of parents and children across the state.鈥�

The plaintiffs intend to seek teacher personnel records to argue their case. Minardo had halted the discovery process while the case was before the Appellate Court. The defendants are expected to appeal to the full Appellate Court to review the panel鈥檚 unanimous ruling.

Disclosure: Campbell Brown founded the Partnership for Educational Justice. She co-founded 蜜桃影视 and sits on its board of directors. She played no part in the reporting or editing of this story. Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to PEJ and 蜜桃影视.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.