PLG Education partner Paul O’Neill has submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the New York State Charter Schools Association in a closely watched pair of cases challenging the State University of New York’s power to authorize new public charter schools.
The cases, pending in New York State Supreme Court, Albany County, were brought by the New York State United Teachers, local districts, and the State of New York against SUNY over its approval of new charter schools in Central Islip and Brentwood on Long Island. The two consolidated proceedings have been joined for trial.
The brief, filed in support of SUNY, traces the history of the 1998 Charter Schools Act and argues that the Legislature deliberately created two independent charter authorizers, the Board of Regents and SUNY, to give families real public school choice. It also highlights the performance record of SUNY-authorized schools, whose students outperform peers in nearby district schools by more than 20 percentage points in both English Language Arts and math, with the widest gap found on Long Island.
The Association represents more than 350 public charter schools across New York. Paul was joined on the brief by co-counsel Stephen Adams of Henneous Lombardo, LLC.
