The Department of Education Was Served!

An appeal, that is. On February 25th Lydia Bellahcene and John Battis, two P.S. 15 parents, joined with lawyers from Advocates for Children to file a petition to the State Commissioner of Education. They asked for a stay in regards to the extension of the co-location with PAVE Academy Charter School that was approved during the PEP vote January 26^th.  This appeal details the actions of the DOE leading up to this vote and how they violated New York State Education Law, failing to follow procedural requirements in regards to significant changes in school utilization!  In short, the appeal stated that our Educational Impact Statement failed to describe any impact the co-location would have on P.S. students, and how the proposal passed by the Panel for Education policy on January 26^th differed from the resolution published on the 27^th, which extended PAVE Academy’s stay to an arbitrary timeframe.  It states that PAVE Academy may co-locate “until a new facility is finished”.  Debra Kurshan of the Office of Portfolio Planning submitted an affidavit within the required five day time period in response to the appeal admitting a discrepancy in the proposal thus resulting in a revised EIS and a re-vote at the April 20^th PEP meeting.  Her affidavit is merely a response to our request for a stay, and we await the response to our full petition, which is due in 15 days!  Schools currently slated for closure or co-locations should examine their EIS carefully, check the state education laws and visit the State Education Department website for information on how to file an appeal to the State Commissioner.