CCSA v Huntington Park

Case Overview

On November 3, 2016, CCSA filed a lawsuit against the City of Huntington Park (City) based on its unlawful extension of a moratorium on the establishment and operations of charter public schools in the City (Moratorium). The lawsuit centers on the Moratorium's conflict with California policy of educational choice mandated under the California Charter Schools Act, and City's failure to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The City is located within the Los Angeles Unified School District's Local District East. Driven by charter schools' demonstrated strong academic performance, throughout Local District East, enrollment in traditional public schools has declined by 13.8 percent during the last five years, while charter school enrollment has increased by 27.1 percent during this same time period. An estimated 662 students are presently on waitlists to enroll in charter schools serving the City. The City is currently home to several charter public schools that are CCSA members.

CCSA sought, among other things, a court order setting aside and invalidating the moratorium. In particular, CCSA asked the court to direct Huntington Park to consider the legislative intent and purposes of the Charter Schools Act prior to reconsidering any new urgency ordinance regulating charter schools.

On April 25, 2017, the trial court denied CCSA's petition entering judgment in July. CCSA filed an appeal challenging the denial to the Court of Appeals on July 28, 2017. Briefing in the appeal is complete, and the parties await the Court's date for oral argument.