The Litigation team of Mark Seiberling, Samantha Zimmer, Jonathan Rava, and Patrick Feeney are representing Philadelphia Montessori Charter in a dispute with the Philadelphia School District (The District). The suit alleges that The District violated the state school charter law and constitutional due process when conducting the charter renewal process. The team argues that The District’s “shifting standards and inconsistent methodologies and procedures” do not provide a fair or neutral renewal process for charter schools. Philadelphia Montessori’s charter was renewed in 2019 and was subject to a one-year renewal with conditions in 2024, instead of a five-year renewal by The District. Philadelphia Montessori did not sign the one-year charter renewal agreement in 2024 due to “unreasonable terms and provisions,” but did comply with all of its conditions. Nonetheless, this year it was subjected to a new charter renewal cycle based on criteria that was not included in the prior one-year renewal agreement. The District argues that the school did not show academic growth, with Philadelphia Montessori arguing that the District’s evaluation methodologies are flawed and do not take other factors of improvement into consideration. The Kleinbard team has asked the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court to rule that The District’s charter renewal process is illegal and to require the District to implement a “finalized, transparent and uniformly applicable evaluation framework” before any charter renewals are made, and to refrain from moving forward with any nonrenewal proceedings against Philadelphia Montessori.
Click here to learn more.
