NYCLU on Court Ruling that NYC DOE Violated State Education Law in School Budget Process 

NEW YORK – Following an amicus brief filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in support of parents and teachers, a New York state appeals court ruled today that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) violated state law by denying community participation in the process leading up to the city’s school budget approval. The court did, however, allow the hundreds of millions of dollars in school budget cuts to move forward, claiming that it would be too disruptive to restart the budget process.

“The court’s ruling is an important recognition that public participation and government transparency are key to making just and equitable decisions about public education. Moving forward, the City will have to abide by the law when it comes to budget procedures,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union. “Unfortunately, however, the ruling fails to provide any remedy for the violation and leaves hundreds of thousands of New York City’s public school students to finish out the school year with cuts in place that have already caused increased class size, teacher cutbacks, and the loss of essential programs and services.”