PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Karen Rogala, NYSAIS Strategic Communications Director (833) 4NYSAIS ext. 714 [email protected] www.nysais.org
NYSAIS Files, Seeks Relief Against Unconstitutional Mandate of the New York State Education Department
(Albany, NY: March 6, 2019) – Yesterday the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), along with eleven member schools, filed legal action against the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and Commissioner of Education seeking an injunction against the NYSED’s unconstitutional mandate to take over the regulation of private school education in New York State.
The NYSAIS Article 78 legal action challenges NYSED’s new regulations as an unconstitutional delegation of authority to elected officials and an improper exercise of authority not found in existing New York State education law. Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and her staff at the State Office of Religious and Independent Schools (SORIS) have unilaterally bestowed upon local boards of education broad oversight powers to review and judge independent schools. Per the Article 78 action, “the New Regulatory Scheme unconstitutionally delegates...to Local School Authorities (LSAs), who can only be granted this power by the Legislature and not an administrative agency like the Department.”
The NYSAIS challenge also asserts that regulations released by SORIS on November 20, 2018, were developed using a process that bypassed the notice and comment period required under the State Administrative Procedures Act (SAPA). In addition, the Commissioner’s actions violate the separation of powers doctrine that is one of the bedrock principles of New York State government. According to the NYSAIS action, “The violation of Petitioners’ constitutional rights through, among other things, the imposition of the New Regulatory Scheme and interference in the educational missions and methods of independent schools, would cause irreparable injury.”
“For over 70 years, New York State law has permitted nonpublic schools to determine the type of program that is harmonious with their established mission statements while meeting objective requirements to provide education substantially equivalent to public schools,” explained Christopher J. Lauricella, Head of School, The Albany Academies, an Albany school over two centuries old, pre-dating both public schools in New York State and NYSED.
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In the event a credible complaint is made about any of the nearly 1,800 nonpublic schools in New York, existing New York education law has given NYSED and its superintendents the authority to intervene. Per the Article 78 filed, the NYSED “has not publicly cited any facts or data suggesting the existence of a growing, chronic or pervasive problem with independent schools not providing Substantially Equivalent Instruction such that would necessitate a regular review of all independent schools. The Department has not publicly cited any reason why regular and comprehensive reviews of independent schools…has suddenly become necessary.”
The petitioners have filed the Article 78 action to halt the newly implemented NYSED regulations requiring LSAs to have curriculum oversight over NYSAIS schools. Such oversight will subordinate the legal authority of their schools’ governing bodies to elected public school officials and would expose sensitive and proprietary information about schools’ curricula and their students.
As Larry Frye, Head of School, The Harley School in Rochester, asserted, “The autonomy of independent schools is the legal and philosophical core of who we are, and the basis for why we're able to make a contribution to educational innovation writ large, in New York and beyond.”
The new regulations do not address what authority an LSA has to ensure the education of children residing outside its district just because they attend an independent school in that district, or what authority the LSA has over independent schools in the district that have students who reside in other school districts. All of the Petitioner Schools have students that reside outside the school district in which they are located.
“Commissioner Elia’s overreaching interpretation of Substantial Equivalency subordinates the authority of our Board of Trustees, which is carefully selected to represent all of our families, to the Board of Education of the district where Buckley happens to be located - an elected Board that represents less than 10% of the students enrolled,” maintained Jean-Marc Juhel, NYSAIS Trustee and Headmaster, The Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn.
“In delegating oversight authority to local boards of education and superintendents, the NYSED and Commissioner have developed a process that leaves independent and religious schools susceptible to bias, conflicts of interest, and local politicking. The highly subjective regulations established by the NYSED do considerable damage to generations of work by all New York educators,” explained Dr. Mark Lauria, NYSAIS Executive Director.
According to the Article 78 action, “the fact the LSAs lack funding, training or experience needed to conduct these reviews mandated by the New Regulatory Scheme will increase the probability that reviews will be unfairly conducted and whatever standards the Department seeks to enforce will be applied subjectively and inconsistently.” This new mandate would create a substantial financial, time, and systemic strain on already over-burdened local public school districts.
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Each of the 192 NYSAIS member schools regularly subjects their programs and operations to a professional, rigorous, impartial accreditation process which has been continuously refined over the last half-century. This well-established process has set the gold standard for accreditations in the United States.
“NYSAIS sends highly trained, thoroughly credentialed experts to evaluate our school. Local school authorities lack the outside depth of training to properly assess programs such as ours,” asserted M. Bradley Rogers, Jr., NYSAIS Trustee and Headmaster, The Gow School in South Wales, a school with teaching methods so specialized and unique to its mission that some are copyrighted.
“Independent schools across New York State challenge and inspire our students, thanks in large part to carefully crafted yet flexible academic programs that vary in sequence, pace and content based on our students’ needs. This freedom to create, adapt and evolve our curricula is what attracts parents and teachers to our schools and produces exceptional outcomes for our students. Today’s action is a reflection of our collective opposition to any measure that threatens our long and successful history of excellence in the classroom,” stated Jane Foley Fried, President of the NYSAIS Board of Trustees and Head of School, The Brearley School in New York City.
11 NYSAIS Member Schools Participating in the Article 78 Litigation 1. The Albany Academies, Albany, NY 2. The Brearley School, New York, NY 3. Buckley Country Day School, Roslyn, NY 4. The Gow School, South Wales, NY 5. The Harley School, Rochester, NY 6. Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY 7. The Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, NY 8. Professional Children’s School, New York, NY 9. St. David’s School, New York, NY 10. The Spence School, New York, NY 11. Stephen Gaynor School, New York, NY
About The New York State Association of Independent Schools
The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) represents a broad cross-section of schools with unique educational missions instructing over 83,000 students across the state of New York. Current voluntary membership includes 192 schools ranging from the oldest independent schools in the United States to some of the newest educational institutions. A 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1947 and chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, NYSAIS provides evaluation and accreditation of member schools, professional learning, legal and institutional counsel and advocacy for independent education.
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