Court overrules State Board of Education in major victory for CSBA and Napa Valley USD
Charter school lawsuit results in a win for local authority of school districts and county offices of education
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 18, 2025) – Overturning a decision by the State Board of Education, the Third District Court of Appeal delivered a complete victory to CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance (ELA) in its quest to preserve local control of public schools and the integrity of California’s Assembly Bill 1505 Charter Reform Law. The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Napa Valley USD and CSBA's ELA v. State Board of Education. The court affirmed that, in 2022, Napa Valley USD and the Napa County Office of Education acted within the law and their authority in denying the Mayacamas Charter Petition presented by the Napa Foundation for Options in Education.
The Napa Foundation appealed to the State Board of Education (SBE), which overturned the decisions by the local educational agencies on the grounds they abused their discretion when they denied the petition. The Court of Appeal utterly rejected that notion and questioned both the intellectual and factual basis of the SBE’s decision writing, “The State Board’s determination was not supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record and was arbitrary, capricious, and entirely lacking in evidentiary support.”
The decision vindicated Napa Valley USD and Napa COE and turned away the first major challenge to AB 1505, a hard-won charter reform law resulting from compromise among school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, labor unions, education advocacy organizations and groups representing parents and students. The court’s decision affirms that, by authorizing the charter, the SBE violated the Charter Schools Act and undermined the Legislature’s express intent to give broad discretion to local educational agencies to authorize new public schools in their communities.
“The ELA’s victory is an important one because it not only validates the actions of Napa Valley USD and Napa COE, it confirms that every school district and county office of education can consider the impact of a charter school on a local community and tailor their decision-making processes regarding petitions and renewals accordingly,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “I’m pleased the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the agreements contained in the Charter Schools Act and reinforced the consensus around AB 1505.”
In November 2022, Napa Valley USD filed litigation on the grounds that SBE’s decision to authorize the Mayacamas Charter conflicted with AB 1505, signed into law in October 2019. CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance filed a similar lawsuit in January 2023 with the intent of representing the statewide interest of governing boards who serve as local charter authorizers. The two cases were heard together at both the superior court and appeals court level because of their similarities.
“It’s extremely gratifying to see the arguments of the Education Legal Alliance and our partner in litigation, Napa Valley USD, affirmed by the Third District Court of Appeals,” said CSBA General Counsel and ELA Director Kristin Lindgren-Bruzzone. “Both Napa Valley USD and Napa COE acted without bias and in accordance with the law and their duty as stewards of the local public schools. The State Board of Education overstepped its authority and sidestepped the law in reversing the Mayacamas Charter petition denial and we have now restored the proper authority to local charter authorizers.”
CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts
and county offices of education throughout California.
www.csba.org