Prior to a final hearing with the Los Angeles County Board of Education Wednesday, officials with Albert Einstein Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences filed a writ of mandate against the William S. Hart Union High School District.
The charter school’s petition for renewal was turned down by the Hart district March 1. The school’s appeal was denied by the Los Angeles County Board of Education on Tuesday.
“This is the only way that we can continue to operate while we work through the appeal process,” CEO Maggie Ford said in an email to The Signal. “Our Charter expires 6/30/2017 and the appeal will not be heard until after that date.”
Albert Einstein’s writ, filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, states that Albert Einstein is seeking an immediate “writ of mandate on behalf of itself and approximately 450 current students, their families and their communities.”
An administrative writ of mandate is defined as a request that a superior court review and reverse the final decision or order of an administrative agency, according to the San Diego Law Library.
The defendants, or respondents, in the writ, are the William S. Hart Union High School District, the Governing Board of the High District and Vicki Engbrecht in her capacity as superintendent.
Dave Caldwell, public information officer with the Hart District, said the district was served with the writ Tuesday.
“The district can confirm that we were served yesterday with a petition for a writ of mandate asking us to set aside the Hart district board’s March 1 decision to deny the petition for charter renewal,” Caldwell said. “We cannot comment further on pending litigation, but we strongly stand behind our board’s decision that was affirmed by the Los Angeles County Board of Education in their decision yesterday.”
As of Wednesday, it was unknown when the topic would be addressed in court.
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