Success Academy, New York City’s largest charter school network, is pushing back against the New York State Education Department (NYSED) over what it calls a violation of its First Amendment rights.
asserted
it → push → rights
The charter network filed a federal lawsuit against New York State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, challenging the state’s refusal to authorize the College Board to release Advanced Placement (AP) exam results for New York public schools to U.S. News & World Report for its annual high school rankings.
asserted
network → file → rankings
"There's no question that it's a First Amendment violation because, essentially… a publication right is being prevented from reporting real news," Eric Grannis told Fox News Digital.
asserted
Grannis → be → Digital
Grannis is an attorney representing the lawsuit and the husband of Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz.
asserted
Grannis → represent → Moskowitz
U.S. News & World Report compiles its nationally recognized high school rankings using academic criteria, including student participation and performance on AP exams.
asserted
News → compile → exams
"Now, it both determines the ranking, and the information is also provided by U.S. News & World Report," Grannis added.
asserted
Grannis → determine → News
"So, you can see how many students participated in AP exams, how many, and how well the students did, and how many exams they took.
asserted
they → see → exams
"
"But just this year, Betty Rosa, the commissioner of the New York State Education Department, decided that they would not allow U.S. News & World Report to report on any of these AP grades," he said.
asserted
he → decide → grades
The lawsuit alleges that NYSED’s policy violates the First Amendment by preventing Success Academy from communicating truthful, independently verified information about its students’ academic performance.
asserted
policy → allege → performance
The network said that U.S. News relies directly on data from the College Board—the organization that administers AP exams—to build its annual school rankings.
asserted
that → say → rankings
Because NYSED declined to authorize the College Board to release 2026 AP scores, U.S. News calculated the advanced course metrics using only International Baccalaureate (IB) data.
asserted
News → decline → data
Because Success Academy offers AP courses rather than IB programs, the network received zero credit for 40% of the ranking's weighted criteria, causing its statewide ranking to crater from 11th to 196th.
asserted
ranking → offer → 196th
"All of this critical information about this incredible success of its students has been suppressed by the New York State Education Department.
asserted
All → suppress → Department
And so we have brought a First Amendment lawsuit to require the commissioner to allow this data to be made public," Grannis told Fox News Digital.
asserted
Grannis → bring → Digital
Success Academy accused NYSED of obscuring data to artificially inflate the rankings of traditional public schools at the expense of high-performing charter schools.
asserted
Academy → accuse → schools
The network noted that while less than 25% of high school graduates nationally pass an AP exam, 95% of Success Academy’s 2026 graduating class passed three or more AP exams, with 60% passing seven or more.
asserted
% → note → seven
Founded in 2006, Success Academy serves over 22,000 predominantly low-income, Black, and Hispanic students across New York City.
asserted
Academy → found → City
The network regularly highlights its academic performance against some of the state's wealthiest suburban districts, such as Scarsdale Union Free School District, where fewer than 10% of students are Black or Hispanic and zero percent are categorized as economically disadvantaged.
asserted
percent → highlight → students
According to state test scores released for grades 3-8 in 2025, Success Academy ranked No. 1 in New York State for math proficiency with a 96% pass rate.
uncertain
Academy → accord → rate
The network also placed second statewide in English Language Arts (ELA) with a 92% pass rate—trailing Scarsdale by just one percentage point.
asserted
network → place → point
NYSED has defended its position by citing student data privacy laws, saying that student information should not be commercialized for ranking products.
asserted
information → defend → products
However, Grannis argued that applying commercial restrictions to educational reporting sets a dangerous precedent.
asserted
applying → argue → precedent
He noted that major news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post are also commercial entities, but their for-profit status does not diminish their First Amendment protections.
asserted
status → note → protections
"If the commissioner had her way... it would strike at the heart of the First Amendment," Grannis said.
asserted
Grannis → have → Amendment
"It would mean that in theory, she could prohibit anybody from reporting on, say, the average reading scores of New York City school students because that would be, in her view, profiting—having a newspaper article in a for-profit magazine about student data.
uncertain
that → mean → data
Grannis also alleged that NYSED's decisions are heavily influenced by traditional public school interests and teachers unions.
asserted
decisions → allege → interests
"The Department of Education is particularly highly aligned with the teachers union," Grannis claimed.
asserted
Grannis → align → union
They don't like there to be lots of public information getting out there about how well students are doing because it's going to point out that the students at charter schools are generally doing far better than the students at the district schools that are unionized."
Success Academy has a long history of friction with teachers unions, particularly over sharing space in public school buildings, known as co-locations.
asserted
Academy → like → locations
Charter schools receive public funding on a per-pupil basis, creating financial competition with traditional district public schools.
asserted
schools → receive → schools
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) filed a lawsuit in 2023 seeking to block two Success Academy co-locations in Brooklyn and Queens, arguing in part that the city failed to account for a state-mandated class-size law.
asserted
city → file → law
Grannis argued that the state's move to suppress score releases reflects a broader policy stance against standardized metrics.
asserted
move → argue → metrics
"They have made this very public for years...
asserted
this → make → years
they call it 'less testing, more teaching,'" Grannis said.
asserted
Grannis → call → it
"I think it might be more accurately titled 'less teaching, less accountability,' because essentially it hides the failure of the district schools to obtain results.
uncertain
it → think → results
And you know what governments do when they don't like unfavorable comparisons: they suppress information."
asserted
they → know → information
NYSED did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
asserted
NYSED → respond → comment
The Aporia
