According to a Bloomberg report, parents of ast least 19 Harlem School students have sued the city of New York over the planned termination of the share-space agreement of the Success Academy NYC-operated charter school. Yesterday, the parents asked a federal judge for an injuction of the termination of the agreement.
The lawsuit was spurred by a February 27 email from the Department of Education, which announced its intention to revoke the location of Harlem Central. The parents, said Bloomberg, are crying foul over the announcement, as it will leave their children and the charter school without a building.
The parents had also alleged in the lawsuit the unscrupulous way the review of co-locations has been conducted, as the review unfairly targeted Success Academy. The parents also said that de Blasio has once labeled Success Academy founder and operator Eva Moskowitz as the one who had made an destructive impact on public education. Charter schools are considered as an alternative education when compared to public schooling, as the former receives funding from the government but operates as an independent entity. The parents also continued that de Blasio isn't a fan of charter schools mainly because his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, favored them. Bloomberg noted that students in charter schools only made up only 5% of the total number of students in the city.
"The revocation of these Success Academy schools (one of which is among the best public middle schools in the city) was driven by the continued arbitrary targeting of Success Academy schools and their founder," the parents had claimed in the suit.
Department of Education spokesman Devon Puglia said in a statement, "The administration is already taking steps to resolve concerns we have received by some parents. In our decisions, we set consistent, objective, commonsense standards - - most importantly protecting students with disabilities. We remain deeply committed to the rights of all students, and ensuring every child has access to a great education."
Spokesman for the mayor Phil Walzak said in an email, "(The administration is committed to ensuring) every child has access to a great education, and the rights of all students."
