TRENTON — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education today seeking the names of volunteers who reviewed 50 charter school applications and information about the training they received. The ACLU is acting on behalf of the Education Law Center, a organization based in Newark that advocates for equal and...
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TRENTON — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education today seeking the names of volunteers who reviewed 50 charter school applications and information about the training they received.
The ACLU is acting on behalf of the Education Law Center, a organization based in Newark that advocates for equal and adequate public education. The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in Mercer County.
The lawsuit claims the department violated the Open Public Records Act by illegally withholding the identities of the unpaid volunteers, who help to determine which schools receive a charter and public funding.
Volunteers evaluate and score the applications, which outline plans for operating a semi-autonomous public school, according to the complaint.
In November, the law center filed a request for public information with the Department of Education seeking the names of those who reviewed the applications for charter schools hoping to open in September 2012.
The department provided the names of employees but redacted the names of volunteers and denied access to its training materials.
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