Lawyers for teachers’ unions, New York City and New York state asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss two lawsuits challenging statutes governing teacher tenure, saying the lawsuits raise issues that should be decided by the Legislature.

“The issues that are raised in this lawsuit are political,” city lawyer Janice Birnbaum told Justice Philip Minardo (See Profile), of Staten Island Supreme Court. “The court cannot step into the role of essentially revising the statutes that the plaintiffs are challenging.”