COURT CERTIFIES CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FIGHTING FOR CALIFORNIA STUDENTS WHOSE EDUCATIONS HAVE BEEN DEFUNDED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

July 15, 2022

This is the first class-action lawsuit involving charter schools in California, which fights for thousands of students who were denied funding at their school of choice.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A class-action lawsuit that was filed in September 2020 by three public charter schools and thirteen students, Reyes et al. v. State of California et al., has now been certified to represent 308 public charter schools in the State of California. These public schools specialize in innovative hybrid learning and distance learning educational programs. During the pandemic, these unique public schools with decades of expertise in providing personalized learning have continued serving students without interruption, while traditional schools have remained shuttered and still struggle to engage with students remotely. Yet, over the summer of 2020, the Legislature defunded the education of students attending these public schools.

Students choose to attend these public schools of the future, called “non-classroom-based” charter schools, because they are the very public schools that are able to meet their individual needs. In California, a school is considered “non-classroom-based” if more than 20 percent of learning occurs off-campus. These public schools provide families with a range of options from fully virtual to a hybrid of on-campus and at-home learning all done with the support of teachers, facilities, technology, curriculum, and extracurricular activities. Their students need those flexibilities because of circumstances that are personal to them. For example, non-classroom-based schools serve students who are medically compromised, students who are hospitalized, students who were bullied at their prior schools, students who are academically behind their peers, students who are academically advanced, students who are Olympic athletes and actors and artists and entrepreneurs, students who are homeless, and students whose parents are in the military, among other challenges. Nearly 40% of students attending these schools of the future are Latinx, 11% have special needs, and 48% are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Incredibly, during the pandemic, the State’s leaders took away these students’ agency to choose the public school that is right for them by defunding their education. The State’s leaders valued these students' educations as worth zero. Students and their schools are fighting back in court. This class action lawsuit is challenging California’s refusal to fund students at hundreds of non-classroom based public charter schools across the state, impacting thousands of students in California. California’s 308 non-classroom based charter schools served 195,000 students in the last school year. This is the first class-action lawsuit involving charter schools in California.

The Court’s order granting class certification is significant because it means that a victory in this case will inure to all of these charter schools and their students and confirm these schools’ rights to be funded for each student who they serve.

“The move by the court to grant class-action status to our suit is a first in California for public charter schools. I deeply appreciate what this decision means to students, parents, and public education. We now carry the weight of 308 schools, which represents 29% of all charter public schools in the state with our litigation. This decision elevates these schools and validates the needs they all have for access to constitutionally guaranteed funding for students and their public education,” said Paul Minney of Young, Minney & Corr, LLP who is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

The merits of Reyes v. State of California is set to be heard by the Court on July 2, 2021. For more information about the class action and coalition of students, parents, and schools leading the way, please visit FundAllKidsNow.com.

About Plaintiff The Classical Academies

The Classical Academies is an organization of award-winning, tuition-free, Certified California Public Charter Schools serving North San Diego County since 1999. With over 4,500 students in grades TK-12, the schools are making a tremendous impact as they reinvent public education.

www.classicalacademy.com

About Plaintiff Springs Charter Schools

Springs Charter Schools are tuition-free, public schools of choice serving more than 8,000 California school children and their parents. Many Springs parents choose to homeschool full-time, while others choose two to five days per week of a blended model that includes classroom instruction with home study. Springs serves students in student centers in the Counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles.

www.springscharterschools.org

About Plaintiff The Learning Choice Academy (TLC)

TLC is a public hybrid homeschool. We incorporate both school and parent involvement in educating students. Families can choose between a 100% homeschool program, or a hybrid program, with 3 days at school and 2 days at home.

www.learningchoice.org

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