NCLB Testing Lawsuit

Nine school districts and three statewide organizations have retained three major civil rights and education law firms to pursue a lawsuit against the State of California to enforce the provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act pertaining to the academic assessment of English Learners.  The objective of this lawsuit is to compel the State of California to assess the academic progress of its English Learners as required by the mandate of NCLB: States must assess limited English proficient students in “a valid and reliable manner” that includes (A) “reasonable accommodations”; and (B) “to the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas, until such students have achieved English language proficiency.”

General questions and answers about the lawsuit. [download]

 

On January 3, 2007, plaintiffs filed their opening brief and supporting evidence with San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer asking him to issue a writ of mandate finding California's system of assessments and accountability out of compliance with NCLB mandates concerning testing of English Learners. The filing leads the way for a final decision on the writ cause of action by Judge Kramer, expected after a hearing to be held as early as March 2007. Below is plaintiffs' opening brief, entitled "Memorandum in Support of Motion for Issuance of Writ of Mandate."

[download] (1.4megs)

Press Release [download]

On August 5, 2005 United States District Court Judge William Alsup granted
plaintiffs' motion to remand the No Child Left Behind English Learner assessment
litigation back to State Superior Court in San Francisco. Plaintiffs, including
a broad coalition of school districts , Californians Together and other
nonprofit organizations from throughout the State, filed their action in state
court on June 1, 2005. Below is the court order and the press release on this
action.

The lawsuit alleges that California has failed to perform a mandatory duty under
No Child Left Behind to test English Learners in a valid and reliable manner and
has failed to provide the accommodations required.

Court Remand Order [download]
PRESS RELEASE (Remand) [download]

Media Advisory and Complaint:

"10 School Districts Sue State for Unfair Testing of English Learners" [download]



Complaint filed in court 6/1/05 [download]



NCLB Assessment Lawsuit [download]