A couple of California education groups are suing the State Board of Education over its decision to require all students to take Algebra in the eighth grade. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
The California School Boards Association
and the
Association of California School Administrators
filed the lawsuit.
Attorneys say the
State Board of Education
violated the state's open meeting law when they approved the new mandate which will take effect in three years.
Judy Cias is handling the legal challenge. She says the board made a hasty decision under pressure from the Governor. She says there was no chance for the public to weigh-in.
Cias:
They didn't involve the legislature, the legislature had no say in it. (The panel) didn't involve the commission on teacher credentialing. So there is a lot of different parts of the system here that need to be discussed. And that didn't happen because it was so last minute.
Teachers don't like the mandate, saying it sets kids up for failure. So far the Governor and the board have not responded to the challenge.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
