Legal Action: Consortium vs. the SED

In April 2001, NY State Commissioner of Education Richard Mills revoked the Consortium's variance. The New York Performance Standards Consortium filed a lawsuit against the State Education Department challenging its revocation of the Consortium's variance from the New York State Regents exams. This variance, originally granted by then-Commissioner of Education Thomas Sobol in 1995, permitted Consortium schools to use performance assessments (e.g., portfolios, exhibitions, research papers, original science experiments) in place of the state's standardized Regents tests for graduation.

The papers in this case contain a significant body of evidence regarding the success of performance-based assessment. Noted scholars and educators Deborah Meier, Linda Darling-Hammond, Ted Sizer, Richard Ryan, Robert Stake, Linda Mabry, Walt Haney, and Robert Hauser all submitted affidavits.

The following PDFs are available for you to download:

• Consortium Legal Brief
• Affidavits
• SED Briefs
• Appellate Court Decision
• Appeals to the Third Department
• Third Department Decision
• Petition to the Court of Appeals
• Amicus Briefs
• Response to Petition for Hearing

Abbreviations:
SED: State Education Department
NYPSC: New York Performance Standards Consortium

  If you need a PDF viewer you can download one here.