Columnist Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News reported that parents of children with disabilities have filed a federal civil rights complaint against Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain for systematically violating the rights of their children.
“The city’s largest charter school chain has been violating the civil rights of students with disabilities for years, a group of parents say in a formal complaint lodged Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Education.
“The parents of 13 special needs students claim the Success Charter Network, which is run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, “has engaged in ongoing systemic policies that violate” federal laws protecting the disabled. It cites eight Success schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx where the parents’ children were enrolled.
“The allegations include:
*refusing to provide special education pupils appropriate services required by law, while often retaining the students to repeat a grade;
*multiple suspensions of students without keeping formal records of all those actions, without the due process required by federal law, and without providing alternative instruction;
*harassing parents to transfer their children back into regular public schools; and even calling 911 to have children as young as 5 transported to emergency rooms when parents don’t pick them up immediately as requested.
“Charter schools like Success Academy should follow the same rules as traditional public schools and protect — not punish — children with disabilities,” Public Advocate Letitia James said.
“James joined the complaint, as did City Councilman Daniel Dromm, chair of the council’s Education Committee, and five private non-profit legal advocacy groups. All are calling for federal action.”
Gonzalez gives more detail in the story.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope this gets traction and provides a template for additional lawsuits. If charters take public funds and market themselves as public schools, they are obliged to be public with respect to IDEA and related laws. I hope this lawsuit gets national attention, and not just in this blog.
Exactly so, Laura. If they are taking public funds, and saying that they are “public schools,” they need to follow the same laws that the public schools must follow.
Those of us who started in the Special Education field many, many years ago, fought too hard for the original Public Law 94-142 (known then as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, passed in 1975, after I had been teaching for four years) to see it, and the rest of the related acts, dumped by the wayside by any of the charter schools that accept public money.
I wish these parents much luck with this lawsuit, and I hope that others join in. Although, sadly, the way the courts work, this could take years to resolve. Especially with an Attorney General’s office that is not willing to make sure that they follow these particular laws. 😦
(And while we’re at it, if the charters take public money, they should also be subject to public oversight.)
Agreed! They have gotten away with unprofessional behavior and sweeping legal obligations under the carpet too long.
Is BASIS up next?
Happened to BASIS DC. The school made an agreement with OCR. You can read it here…
Click to access 11131140-b.pdf
It needs to happen at all the BASIS Ed. schools.
For the federal government to react, the person moving into the White House in early 2017 after the 2016 presidential elections will have to be supportive of public schools and current education laws. I don’t think the Obama administration cares and will ignore the requests to enforce the federal laws. In fact, I think the Obama administration will ignore any court verdict that supports the plaintiffs forcing them to appeal as far as they can and that could take years even decades without a supportive White House that basically decides who the attorney general is.
It’s sad, but it’s true, Lloyd. Without a Department of Justice and Attorney General willing to enforce the laws, this could take many years.
And while we’re at it, I don’t see the U.S. Department of Education trying to push for the charters to follow the laws, or trying to push the Justice Department to enforce them, either.
Knock, Knock Chris Christie are you reading this? You, of all people that are filling Newark and Camden with Charter schools. I can’t wait to see you out of NJ !!!
Reblogged this on 21st Century Theater.
Reblogged this on Politicians Are Poody Heads and commented:
I wish much success to the parents of special needs students filing this lawsuit, and I hope many more join them.
The charter schools which continue to receive tax-payer dollars as so-called “public schools” need to follow the same laws and be subject to the same public scrutiny as the actual public schools, which are required to take all children.
Many of the charters continue to pick and choose the students they will serve, and make sure that those students who do not “fit into” their narrow requirements are counseled out, suspending these children multiple times, and basically harassing the parents until they withdraw their kids.
And Eva Moskowitz’s “Success Academy” chains is one of the biggest offenders.
And so it begins…at last!
The best part of this lawsuit is Evil Moskowitz will not be able to run and hide. All of her blatant violations will have to be presented during this lawsuit. The light will be shed and her minions will be running like cockroaches!
“Evil” Moskowitz! I love this, Joe, and with your permission, I will steal this appellation.
so glad to see these brave parents step up for their children – it will be a long & tough fight, but it is the right fight to have for ALL children (not just special ed kids)! it is especially evil when individuals in charter schools pick on those with disabilities…
I have argued for a while now that part of ALEC’s and the reform movement’s agenda is to repeal the special education laws.
There is a huge amount of money spent on special services that could be going into some reformer’s pocket as profits.
Florida passed an ALEC law a few years ago requiring all teachers to get a new soecial ed certificarion rider added to their teaching license. Standalone classes are being eliminated and mainstreaming is increasing.
Service providers are being eliminated or given huge case loads. There is a constant PR campaign stating that ALL children are capable of learning the standards and passing the new tests. They just need to be taught correctly, in the TFA/ no excuses way.
The charters make the same claims. This is heading somewhere ugly as do all the reforms. I wish these parents well in their long fight for equity.
You are correct (and right), Chris. I wish these parents well, also, in their long fight for equity.
I have 2 adult children at the present time.
One went through the supposedly horrific system in 1985-1998 and is an IP attorney for Google now in San Fransisco (it must have worked! eh?).
The other went to public school for 2 years and I took him out (shall we call it an “opt-out”?).
I am glad I have no younger children now, facing this education industrialized system and the way it is.
I can be glad for that, and sad for the others.
I so agree with you, Chris. I see this happening as more autistic students are thrown into general ed classes in a sink or swim fashion under the guise of least restrictive environment when in actuality it is just a way to not provide the services needed and save the money special ed spends. In a low income area the parents do not speak up and the districts get away with it.
I hope these parents will slam Eva’s political head into the political concrete and have all the cars and buses run her over politically. Let it be a lesson for all these other creeps who have hijacked the civil rights movement of the 1960s and used it as a mask for privatization and monetization of public education.
As someone I just met over the weekend at a screening of “Selma”, Professor Lesley Brown of Williams College in Massachusetts, said to me, “Every public school should be a palace for children!”. Dr. Brown said that if we were a great country, we would invest in our schools rather than trying to make then centers of bad discipline policy and profit for people like Eva Moskowitz.
Eva, you’re goin’ DOWN!!
SLAM . . .
SMACK . . . .
SPLURT . . . .
Hi Robert . I have a Child with ADD and a Charter School refuse to give special attention , complain ? A nightmare my Kid was Fisical , mental abuser is such point , almost kill him self , my Daughter same Arasment my 11 years old Daughter , the push me to transfer my kids, is not over , the principal is supporting the evel guy . No matter what he did . Why ? Because is a business . Traditional Scholl eventually will despair . Multimillion groups , master Brain new and best and easy way to make a lot of money hiding , yes the Kids are the vulnerable .
Charter Scholl is nothing but a perfect copies of the Communism , Communism only work in theorists .
Take care
With all these different schools and different administrators involved it this, Eva cannot say, as she did with Principal Got-to-Go, that this was just one rogue administrator acting along, and that once his superiors picked up on the situation, they corrected it corrected.
No, Principal Got-to-Go was and is the rule, not the exception. There are too many of them to coerce into lying. If Eva does, that’s suborning perjury and witness tampering. One or more than one of them will drop a dime on her, rather than lie under oath.
You remember the Edushyster story where a prominent reporter being interviewed by Campbell Brown’s “The 74” website was told that, as part of their job, reporters forbidden to write any negative stories about charter schools? It didn’t matter how egregious the scandal, or how widely covered in the mainstream media. Writers for “The 74” were forbidden to cover it, and were required to pretend such things never happen in charter-world:
http://edushyster.com/will-the-74-investigate-charter-scandals/
Well, that’s apparently how it’s played out. During the last two months, Eva’s Got-to-Go list has been a national story … and not a peep from “The 74”. Meanwhile, any negative story about traditional public schools, or teacher unions gets played up to the hilt.
Will they cover this latest?
We’ll see.
From the beginning charters were dressed-up in a lot of political rhetoric, but their real purpose was
to help dismantle the public sector unions. Right now, in Massachusetts, we have a state senate that
has agreed to put together legislation that will probably lift the cap on charters; while at the same time
we have public schools in dire need of attention from our representatives; public schools that serve about
97% of the school population. But in true Beacon Hill style, we have legislators who seem to forget that: 1) many, if not most,
charter schools do not abide by legislation already passed; 2) we have a state that does not reimburse schools districts,
as agreed, when they attempt to cover revenue gaps produced by the opening of charters; and, 3)
we have a governor who seems to be willing to continue to prop-up a bogus waiting-list number that
even the state auditor, one year ago, flagged as a doubtful marker. (Personally, I respect and admire Gov Baker, but on this he’s missing the mark by a wide margin.) The mayor of Boston wants to proceed
with more caution. Why? Because he knows the value of public sector unions, and he appreciates
the sustaining value of doing the next right thing.
OMG! I found the video of the confrontation, and it’s more intense than I thought.
Indeed, this is an instant classic in the whole corporate reform movement, and the fight against it..
It’s either HERE:
http://nyls.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/a383f1d9713a49c49cddb999e631de8d1d?playFrom=3383&autoStart=true
OR HERE:
http://www.citylandnyc.org/complete-video-the-131st-citylaw-breakfast-with-eva-moskowitz/
“COMPLETE VIDEO: The 131st NYC City Law Breakfast with Eva Moskowitz.
“On Friday January 22, 2016, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted the 131st City Law Breakfast. The event speaker was SUCCESS Academy’s Eva Moskowitz.”
The “Perry Mason Moment” of the forum starts here at about 41:58.
Watch how the moderator Ross Sandler, a New York City Law School professor moderating this event, goes to bat for Eva when Eva is criticized. Earlier, at the beginning of this video, his introduction to Eva was so fawning and gushing you may think that he was describing Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Later, Eva faces the heat from an angry Success Academy parent, who asks if Eva had ever apologized to parents whose children were harmed by being placed on the infamous “Got-to-Go List,
After Eva says she has indeed apologized, this parent, Shanice Givens, points out to everyone in the room that Eva just lied. She’s one of those parents, and Eva never apologized to her.
Hell is then unleashed … from Givens toward Eva… and then from moderator Ross Sandler towards Givens.
This is some truly riveting footage — an instant classic in the whole corporate education reform controversy.
http://nyls.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/a383f1d9713a49c49cddb999e631de8d1d?playFrom=3383&autoStart=true
OR HERE:
http://www.citylandnyc.org/complete-video-the-131st-citylaw-breakfast-with-eva-moskowitz/
TRANSCRIPT —
( 41:58 – 43:03 )
———————–
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “Good morning, Eva. How are you?”
EVA: “Good morning.”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “Hi. You didn’t shed any light on the ‘Got-to-Go List.’ Uhmm… I just want to know. Did you privately or publicly apologize to the any of parents that were affected by it.”
EVA: “There’s been an enormous amount of coverage. I see Kate Taylor (the NY Times writer who penned the Got-to-Go List article) in the audience. There were two stories on it, and yes, I … I did (apologize). The (Got-to-Got) list existed for three days. As soon as it came to our attention — which was within about 24 hours of it being produced — the principal was brought into the school and severely reprimanded for his actions. I have personally have done many parent meetings at Fort Greene (Success Academy School) … uhh … because of that mistake.”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “Hello. Sorry. I just wanted to say. My name is Shanice Givens- ”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: “Wait, wait.”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: ” And my son was Number Three on the list.”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: “May I- ?”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “My son was Number Three (on the Got-to-Go List) and I NEVER got an apology from Ms. Eva.”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: “May I ask you to be courteous?”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “I just want to say that she just said that she – ”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: (turning away from Given to the other mic)
“We’re on this side now.”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: ” – publicly said something, and she NEVER said ANYTHING to me. My son was Number Three.’ ”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: “Madame -”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: (to Eva) “And you said that you ‘loved children so much’ ?
Yet you STILL allow Mr. (Candido) Brown to teach?”
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: (to some technician) “Turn her microphone off!”
PARENT SHANICE EVANS: “He has wronged sixteen children and -”
(Given’s MIC CUTS OFF)
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: “This is not the place. This is an academic institution. We’re having a conversation. We’re going to this side (the other microphone) now.”
—————–
There’s a whole mess o’ wrong goin’ on here.
I don’t get the rationale of “This is an academic institution.” as justification for silencing this woman, and killing her mic. Shouldn’t an academic institution be a place for vigorous debate where all sides are allowed to offer their opinions.
To be accurate, Sandler should have said, “This is an academic institution in which only those who, like me, heap unqualified praise Ms. upon Moskowitz, will be allowed to speak.”
Immediately following this, a well-dressed pro-Success Academy parent — Thomas Lopez Pierre (sp?) mentioning in his remarks that he’s a candidate for NYC City Council — starts off with gushing praise for Eva and what Success Academy has done for his son. He even spouts the “My son was trapped in a failing school” line.
In contrast to the parent criticizing Eva, Ross Sandler lets Pierre (sp?) run at the mouth while Pierre effusively praises Eva & Success Academy.
Standing beside Eva, Sandler nods and smiles as if to say, “Now, that’s more like it.”
However, that same parent, in mid-speech, then surprises everyone, and does a total 180. He goes on the same attack as Givens for Eva’s exclusive admission and expulsion policies. The moderator Ross Sandler again intervenes.
( 43:57 – 44:04 )
———————–
THOMAS LOPEZ PIERRE: (polite tone) “With that said, I’m a critic of you, Ms. Moskowitz. And here’s the reason why. You have failed to provide every public school student who wants to attend Success the opportunity, and until you are able to serve ALL of the kids who want to get into your wonderful charter school, Success will not be a ‘success.’ Thank you. ” (walks away from the mic)
EVA (clearly frazzled): “Thank you. I do have a lot of critics, and it comes from a variety of places … and that’s … uhh … part of the … wonderfulness … of New York- ”
The douchey moderator Sandler swings into action again, saying,
MODERATOR ROSS SANDLER: (visibly irritated)
“Let me just step in a second. This is an academic institution, and decorum is required of everybody, and I have no doubt that everyone n this room will honor that.”
————–
“Oh shut up, you pompous bag of wet brownies!!!”
… is what I would have shouted at Sandler at this point.
The angry parents are not yet through with Eva.
Remember Fatima Gehdi, the parent who’s upset at Eva who, as part of Eva’s retaliation against Gehdi, illegally released Gehdi’s son’s private discipline records to the press?
Well, she got in her licks, too … at 49:05
http://nyls.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/a383f1d9713a49c49cddb999e631de8d1d?playFrom=3383&autoStart=true
or
http://www.citylandnyc.org/complete-video-the-131st-citylaw-breakfast-with-eva-moskowitz/
I don’t have time to transcribe this, so just watch Gehdi yourself at: (this is what provoked Eva’s “customer service” comment)
Watch how, again, the moderator Sandler tries but fails to silence this parent.
Here’s moderator Ross Sandler in a nutshell …
When praising Eva, you can talk all you want.
When criticizing Eva, you are showing bad “decorum” and must be shut up, or have your mic turned off.
COUNTDOWN to the moment when, per Eva’s request, Sandler and New York City Law School takes down this video:
“One, two, three .. “
My daughter is currently attending success academy and the parents are correct. Its been a total nightmare and today I decided that she’s not going back.
Diane .
I’m can’t have a single day in peace , over and over . FDLE , MEDIA , are on the Chaters school , city of Hialeah Education is untouchable , those agency’s , are nothing but careless , nothing but ignoring the complains of my kids abused . Impossible they nouses are smoking the Dragon is furious , the Dragon should be stoped . There are more Dragons now , police of Hialeah Dragons hide they bached after I told them , polices are to help and prevent abuses , stop crimes , they don’t want help my family , no they want protect thoses abusers , internal umfear are on the side of thoses corrupts polices , FDLE , inoring my complains , The shuld incestigate and prosecute those corrupts agency’s .
Police + internal unfear + FDLE = family’s ( Police ; FDLE = LAW enforcement = Polices protected by internal unfear , Hialeah police deparment are in the same house , strong family , they eat in the same table .
Insame , complain at any of them , is worts why ? I complain at Hialeah Police deparment for permit Chater School abuse of my kids , now I have as anemy , the city Mayor , members of owners of Hialeah Education Academy , The principal covering they crimes , those guys prominence is what they realy care . Why ? Respect priceless and prominence = Fakes . Real rulers , respect over all , those Evils rulers , no want respect them , I told this because . They are in my hunte , my son left home , kid with mental desorder left town , thoses clidren protection , Denise hanah , a latie investigation was nothing but a cruel interrogation with the Principal Carlos Albarez . My son Daniel Castillo’s
kows , every thing , the Coach arasment a 12 years old girls , as a buch of girls , that evil guy arrasmet sex- arrasmet is real that sirnce teacher / baseball Coach is an immoral , 4 names of girls , names with last names
Proved the true of my intensity serching since a year how that guy is still working araund inocent kids , no body care about thoses kids . That is a very sad , divide , arasment , intimidated , my 2 kids , Daniel rooms is noiseless , now another room noiceless , Daniel’s rooms is a sad museon , his bed , baseball trofys , Daniel’s room is sad , waiting , now another room , my 12 years old Daugter’s roon enty , my Princess sleeping with wife . I have to , before 5:00 am , Very sad , 3:47 Am , and hour , that is what I have left , clock is runig I packed up , car is ready the home is not swet home . Hialeah Education Academy . Inc
are destruying my family , Peter Pan , as soon Fidel Castrol take the control , por parents , por kids , Cuban parents send little kids to this nation , 1959 – 3 decades ago , America rights violations a severe crime now there is no right , those rulers destroyed the constitution , sutill evil way , Fidel Castros regimes take the control in the war , fithig fulgencio Batista . American , Charters Schooll are controlling the intere sistem , this rich detador weapons fortunes , billions of dollars are consuming the promise land .
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE SLEEPING . I CAN’T I HAVE TO GO MY PACIFIC WAR STRATEGY MOVE THOSES CRIMINALS ARE FURIUS , KKK ( criminals in this town )!Martin Luter King ( I’m Hispanic , I love people but I hate they crimes . I mean I don’t hate , the city mayor, as thoses polices , sience teacher/ baseball coach . I love them but not what they did . I love them [ I HATE THEY CRIMES ]
Castillo is obvious Reibel Castillo is an forengein , Smith is obvious . Mr. Smith . Cartung Funny pirate , Peter Pan . Nice lovely always defending innocents .
Chaters school kids , poor kids , perter pan era is gone . Peter Pan is intensive care .
Only God and good people can stop thoses Evils Pirates , they galleons full of treasure , and protecting by the coast guard .
My messages is clear , only for thoses who find the way to got , what others are marking fun .
I’m proud , I hate abuse , those evils who are mailing fun , I care , yes I dit not of thoses perfectionists of they perfect Dialeact , I have my perfect Spanish . There is 2 diferents , 2 Languages , 2 Groups the Evils and the good , good American people don’t do that . Only Evils lovers of money , is not how much they hate me . That is no problem . They Hate kids . America stand up , now is the time . Diane thanks I learn a lot from you , I’ll miss my kids . But they only way I can protect them is on the top of the tower ( THE AWAKE )