Success Academy, New York City's largest charter school network, has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Education Department (NYSED) over what it claims is a violation of its First Amendment rights. The lawsuit challenges 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.
The charter network, which serves over 22,000 predominantly low-income, Black, and Hispanic students across New York City, argues that the state's decision to withhold the data is a form of censorship that prevents the network from communicating truthful information about its students' academic performance. The network notes that U.S. News relies on data from the College Board to build its annual school rankings, and that NYSED's decision to withhold the AP scores has artificially inflated the rankings of traditional public schools at the expense of high-performing charter schools.
The lawsuit alleges that NYSED's policy violates the First Amendment by preventing Success Academy from communicating independently verified information about its students' academic performance. The network argues that applying commercial restrictions to educational reporting sets a dangerous precedent, and that it would allow the state to prohibit anyone from reporting on student data.
Success Academy has a long history of academic success, with its students consistently outperforming those in traditional public schools. According to state test scores, the network ranked No. 1 in New York State for math proficiency in 2025, with a 96% pass rate, and placed second statewide in English Language Arts (ELA) with a 92% pass rate.
The NYSED has defended its position by citing student data privacy laws, but Success Academy's attorney, Eric Grannis, argues that this is a pretext for suppressing information that is unfavorable to traditional public schools. Grannis notes 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.
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
View original reporting →
