ALBANY, N.Y. Sept. 19, 2016 — New York State United Teachers released the following statement after a State Supreme Court judge today dismissed claims by parents and children in Maisto v. State of New York.
“Today’s decision is a blow to some of New York’s most vulnerable students — students in eight small city school districts who unquestionably deserve greater state funding and the resources associated with the opportunity to receive the sound, basic education guaranteed by our state constitution. We are profoundly disappointed that, after weeks of wrenching testimony and compelling data speaking to the harm caused to these students by deep budget cuts and chronic underfunding by the state, this decision failed to directly address the most meaningful issue raised by the case: Is the state failing to provide students in these eight districts with the elements of a sound, basic education as outlined in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision? We firmly believe that the answer to that question is ‘yes,’ and we are reviewing the decision to determine the appropriate next steps.”
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.