Class Action Appeal to the New York State Commissioner of Education

1. 🏫George Washington Elementary Community 

On behalf of the class of all families at GW elementary, the petitioners request a STOP to the dismantling of the few remaining Montessori classrooms at the school. The board's decision went contrary to public opinion-- on the heels of a 225+ person public petition to protect Montessori as a separate track at the school-- and was carried out without prior notice across town while impacted families were at a "Family Engagement Night" at the school. The process behind the board's vote to eliminate Montessori -- -- was based on misleading information and did not follow the rules for proper public and stakeholder engagement. This case provides an example of a larger district-wide issues with transparency and authority in local public education stewardship.

2. 🏙️City-Wide: All Kingston School District Families 

On behalf of the class of all families in Kingston City School District, the petitioners allege that the district administration and board circumvented the required process to bring Shared Decision-Making-- already 30+ years overdue--to the district. They avoided properly carrying out a state required process of including parents, teachers, and students in decisions that get made in schools. Instead, they took actions that handed all decision-making power directly back to themselves.  The petitioners request a restart of Shared Decision-Making under an independent facilitator. Further, the appeal may benefit parents, students, and teachers statewide, as it calls for the Commissioner's intervention to clarify and eliminate loopholes that leadership in other districts may also have been employing to avoid sharing power over these kinds of taxpayer funded education decision with impacted stakeholders.