Charter schools lawsuit versus state certified as class action

Administrator

A class action lawsuit – Reyes et al. v. State of California et al. – Submitted last September by three public charter schools and thirteen students, it has now been certified to represent 308 public charter schools in the state. This lawsuit challenges California’s failure to fund students at these non-classroom based public charter schools. That failure, the charter schools say, failed to recognize the shifts in student enrollment as a result of the pandemic: from traditional public schools to charter schools. In California, a school is considered “non-classroom-based” if more than 20% of the learning takes place off-campus. These public schools say they offer a range of options, from completely virtual to a mix of on-campus and at-home learning. Charter schools involved in the suit are The Classical Academies (Escondido / Vista / Oceanside), Springs Charter Schools (Vista) and The Learning Choice Academy (San Diego). They claim the state has turned down at least $ 20.9 million for newly enrolled students, many of whom had switched their enrollment from traditional public schools. “The court’s move to classify our lawsuit is a first in California for public charter schools,” said Paul Minney of Young, Minney & Corr, who represents the charter schools. “We now have the weight of 308 schools, which is 29 percent of all public charter schools in the state.” Minney said the class action certificate “elevates these schools and validates the needs they all have for access to constitutionally guaranteed funding for students and their public education.” The charter schools say a victory in this case validates their right to funding for every student they serve. The case is due to go to court on July 2nd this year.

Comments are closed.