NYCLU Disappointed With Outcome of Education Funding Lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@aclu.org

Statement of Donna Lieberman, Executive Director, NYCLU

NEW YORK — The New York Civil Liberties Union is greatly disappointed in today’s Court of Appeals decision on our lawsuit seeking more resources for failing schools throughout the state and outside New York City.

This ruling is a huge tragedy for the tens of thousands of students in these abysmally failing schools for whom the constitutional promise of a sound, basic education continues to be a dream deferred. The Court ruled that in order to seek remedy, failure must be shown district-wide and many of the schools represented in the NYCLU lawsuit are in fact part of failing districts. For those students, the NYCLU will look into pursuing legal remedies.

And the NYCLU will pursue a legislative solution to provide a remedy designed to require the State to fulfill its constitutional commitment to all the children in the state.