New York City did not follow state law when it moved to close 19 underperforming public schools, a state appeals court ruled this month. Under a New York law requiring public participation in decisions to close schools, the city was required to file impact statements detailing how each schools closing would affect its community. The Appellate Division agreed with a lower court that education officials failed to comply. The city’s teachers union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sued.
A version of this article appeared in the July 14, 2010 edition of Education Week as Court Blocks School Closings