California School Boards Association Wins Appeal in Algebra I Litigation
West Sacramento, Calif. –
The 3rd District Court of Appeal has upheld an injunction that was granted in CSBA’s successful 2008 lawsuit against the State Board of Education regarding the SBE’s decision to mandate Algebra I for all eighth graders in California. In the action taken this week, the court declared that the SBE had violated the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act by failing to give adequate notice of its intended action.
SBE had conceded to the court that it had violated the open meeting law and as a result, the court held that the SBE’s action mandating Algebra I for all eight graders was null and void.
“We are pleased by the judges’ ruling recognizing the legal consequences for the SBE’s violation of the open meeting laws,” said CSBA President Frank Pugh, “but it’s unfortunate that the SBE chose to spend further time and resources on this appeal, especially given the board’s concession that it had violated the open meeting law.”
The lawsuit addressed SBE’s failure to adequately inform the public that they were contemplating such a fundamental change in state policy. Prior to making its decision, the SBE didn’t provide the public with an opportunity to express the significant ramification this revised policy would have on all aspects of the education system. These concerns include the teacher credentialing process, allocation of instructional time, professional development, instructional materials and areas in which existing K-7 math standards must be strengthened.
“The appellate court acknowledged that a significant reallocation of resources would be needed in order to make the systemic changes necessary to prepare eighth graders to be successful in Algebra I,” said Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin.
CSBA has long called on the SBE to engage in a sensible conversation about the state’s academic content standards. The need for this conversation became even more urgent with the passage of SBX5 1 in January, which established a new state standards commission. The law requires this commission to develop content standards in math and language arts based on the Common Core State Standards, present its findings to the SBE in July, and for the SBE to accept or reject the proposed standards by August 2 of this year.
CSBA's Education Legal Alliance and the Association for California School Administrators were joined in the lawsuit by Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and the California Teachers Association. CSBA and ACSA were represented by the law firm of Olson, Hagel and Fishburn.
For more information, please contact Brittany McKannay at 916-669-3244.
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CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 K-12 school districts
and county offices of education throughout California.
www.csba.org