Judge rules Dept. of Ed. illegally closed 19 NYC schools

[defendandprotect]

Judge rules Dept. of Ed. illegally closed 19 NYC schools
By YOAV GONEN

Last Updated: 1:11 PM, March 26, 2010

The teachers union won a lawsuit today in its bid to roll back the city's plan to close 19 low-performing public schools.

The United Federation of Teachers filed the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court last month, accusing the city of ramming its plan through in a way "that would have made Tammany Hall proud."

The union claimed the Department of Education plan violated state law because it failed to consider the impact of the closings on their communities.

As a result, the Department of Education has to either redo the entire student application process or revert to an old list in which kids had picked those schools.

Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have defended closing schools that they say are failing.

Among the 19 schools that had been slated for closure were six large high schools, including Jamaica and Beach Channel in Queens, Paul Robeson in Brooklyn and Columbus in The Bronx.


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_rules_dept_of_ed_illegally_ZfIptXFnnnCD0jRZfK27wL

[LWolf]

1. Good news. I hope to see more like this in the near future. nt

[alp227]

2. Good to see the court standing up for the community. eom