Major Victory for Educator Tenure and Due Process Rights

ALBANY, NY (06/05/2024) (readMedia)-- A decade ago, two groups of concerned parents, who were funded by Wall Street charter school advocates, commenced litigation seeking to have a court ruling that the statutes relating to tenure, 3020-a due process rights, as well as seniority-based layoff and recall provisions, be declared unconstitutional. The basis for these claims was that the challenged statutes allowed for the retention of ineffective teachers, thereby denying their children their right to a "sound basic education," as set forth in the New York State Constitution.

Recognizing that the statutes these parents were challenging also applied to school administrators, SAANYS (School Administrators Association of New York State) was the only administrative organization to intervene in the case. Over the past ten years, SAANYS General Counsel Art Scheuermann and Deputy Executive Director Jenn Carlson spent hundreds of hours attending depositions and court appearances, as well as filing motions in collaboration with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, New York City Department of Education, New York State United Teachers, and the United Federation of Teachers.

On June 5, 2024, the New York State Supreme Court issued a decision, dismissing the case on the basis that all the plaintiff students were grown and had graduated from high school, many with honors, and have all gone on to successful collegiate careers, proving that they did indeed receive a sound basic education. SAANYS wholeheartedly agrees with the decision and will continue to work diligently to protect the rights of school administrators in New York State.