Basis School Inc. v. Horne, No. 07-011100 (Ariz. Super. Ct. Maricopa County Aug. 7, 2007)
The Maricopa County Superior Court has denied a preliminary injunction motion by a coalition of charter schools to prevent the State of Arizona from enforcing its social studies curriculum grade level requirements. The court found that the new requirements were known to the charter schools for over two years and they failed to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the state to "comment on or seek changes to the proposed requirements." In addition, it found that the charter schools had not sought the court’s "intervention until less than two months before the requirements would take effect." The court concluded that the schools’ explanation that they "simply did not focus on the impact of the new requirements until recently" was insufficient. According to the court, "if the schools had acted sooner, the substantive issues presented by their Complaint could have been resolved in the normal course, perhaps even at the appellate level, without the necessity of seeking the extraordinary remedy of injunction." The court also concluded that the schools failed to show they are under threat of immediate harm if they fail to comply with the new curriculum requirements. In particular, the court noted that state had conceded at oral argument that they have no authority to take any action against the schools if they do not comply.
Basis School Inc. v. Horne, No. 07-011100 (Ariz. Super. Ct. Maricopa County Aug. 7, 2007)
[Full opinion]
[Editor’s Note: For reactions to the court ruling, see the Arizona Republic news report below. For further background on the suit, see the second link below.]
Arizona Republic
By Ray Parker
[Full story]
[NSBA School Law pages on Arizona charter school suit]