9018. IN RE MICHAEL P. THOMAS, pet-ap, v. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION res-res — Hagan, Coury & Associates, Brooklyn (Paul Golden of counsel), for ap — Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York (Elizabeth I. Freedman of counsel), for res — Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Geoffrey D. Wright, J.), entered April 9, 2012, denying the petition seeking to compel respondents to disclose documents requested by petitioner pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), and dismissing the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, the proceeding reinstated, and the matter remanded for an in camera inspection of the requested documents to determine if redaction could strike an appropriate balance between personal privacy and public policy interests, and whether respondents otherwise assert applicable FOIL exemptions.
Petitioner is a public school teacher employed by the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics (MCSM), which allegedly receives funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 USC §6301 et seq.). In August 2010, pursuant to the “No Child Left Behind Written Complaint and Appeal Procedures” adopted by the New York State Education Department, petitioner filed a complaint against the administrators of MCSM alleging that: “1. the [school's] 2009-2010 Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP) was not developed with the involvement of parents and other members of the school community as required by Section 1114(b)(2)(B)(ii) of Title I, Part A of the ESEA; 2. required components of a schoolwide program that address the needs of at-risk students were not implemented as required by Section 1114(b)(2) and Section 1118 of Title I, Part A of the ESEA; 3. Title I funds were misappropriated and were not used to implement the components of a schoolwide program as required by Section 1114(b)(2)(A)(ii) of Title I, Part of the ESEA; and 4. the 2010- 2011 CEP did not exist as required by Section 1114(b)(2)(B)(ii) of Title I, Part A of the ESEA.”
