A group of families and teachers sued Thursday to block the Department of Education from moving Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School, a decision that sparked broad controversy this spring.
West Side, a school that accommodates students who did not thrive in other settings, has on-site daycare and health centers that many students rely on. But the program has been shrinking, prompting education officials to propose a building swap with a larger school crosstown.
The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court alleges officials violated the law by failing to perform a full analysis of how the plans would impact students and seeks to nullify the decision.
Many students enrolled in the transfer program are behind on credits and at increased risk of dropping out.
“The loss of the day care center matters to me because it’s really difficult here in New York to find somebody to take care of a baby,” said Karen Pachar-Yupangui, 16, a student at West Side with a 1-year-old baby. “The new school building is too far away and it’s too much traveling for me, especially if I have to leave my baby across town.”
The city projects the school’s enrollment to drop again this fall by 215 students. Its current building has the capacity for more than 3.5 times the expected student body, according to figures from the School Construction Authority.
Despite roughly 100 speakers called to reject the plan, the city’s Panel for Educational Policy voted last month to swap the school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with The Young Women’s Leadership School, or TYWLS, in East Harlem — a larger program projected to enroll 443 students next year.
“It is inequitable to take away from the student population the LYFE Center,” Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) said of the daycare in a statement, “the wellness and health center, the large gym and field, and the kitchen. If the TYWLS building is not adequate to meet the needs of its current student population, then it cannot be adequate for the students now at West Side High School.”
Chancellor David Banks assured students and teachers at the time, “We will make all the necessary adjustments that we need to make to provide the loss of support to those at West Side.”
In another decision, the same body approved plans to move Aspirations Diploma Plus in Crown Heights into the same building as Brownsville Academy High School, sparking concerns that the existing school could lose space currently used for counseling and mentoring, and its internship program.
Parents and teachers at Brownsville Academy, another alternative program, likewise alleged that the city did not adequately assess the impact on current students in required documentation.
The lawsuit was brought by the pro bono law firm Advocates for Justice, who also represented a group of parents and teachers last summer to reverse cuts to school budgets.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued students with disabilities in both schools will likely lose space for mandated services in smaller or more crowded buildings, violating the city’s human rights law. More than 4 in 10 students at West Side qualify for individualized education plans, and over a quarter at Brownsville Academy.
They also alleged that panelists who voted for both plans without cameras on or while recording was a violation of state law that dictates meetings open to the public.
The approval came after education officials delayed a vote scheduled for April, following a report from the Daily News exposing its flaws and a strong rebuke from local elected officials.
Students and teachers suggested the plan, though reasonable on paper, discounts the experiences of the unique population the school serves. That includes young people who faced threats or violence at previous schools that led them to transfer — and cannot move crosstown due to gang dynamics at play.
One student at a public hearing said if the school relocates, he could not move with it. Another warned the move to the east side would result in “so much blood on your hands.”
The city’s Department of Education and Law Department did not immediately return requests for comment.