The Success Academy charter school network is suing the New York education commissioner, Betty Rosa, accusing her of blocking the release of AP test score results as part of what the lawsuit calls "a government-created information blockade."
The suit says Rosa, at the behest of the teachers' union, blocked the College Board from releasing AP test data to U.S. News & World Report for use in its high school rankings. That effectively impeded Success's ability to communicate—a violation of First Amendment free expression rights, the suit says.
"Fewer than 25 percent of high school students nationally pass at least one AP examination by the time they graduate. By contrast, 95 percent of Success Academy's 2026 graduating class passed three or more AP examinations, 79 percent passed five or more, and 60 percent passed seven or more," the lawsuit says. "Those results are among the most objective and compelling evidence of the rigor of Success Academy's high-school program and of its students' readiness for college."
"Success Academy therefore wants those results known. It wants them known to families of prospective students who are seeking a rigorous education for their children; to the colleges and universities to which Success Academy's students are applying; and to journalists, educators, policymakers, philanthropists, and the public," the lawsuit says. "Success Academy particularly wants these results known to U.S. News & World Report ('U.S. News'), which publishes one of the country's most widely disseminated high-school rankings."
"This case is about much more than our place on a ranking. It is about whether parents and the public will have access to clear, objective evidence of whether students in New York's public schools are actually learning," the charter school network said in a memo about the case. "It's also about Success Academy's students being denied the recognition they deserve, and the merit they earned."
The lawsuit puts the state action in the context of a broader push by New York and the New York State United Teachers union to deemphasize standardized testing. It also notes that AP test results are particularly valuable information. "AP results are an unusually valuable form of speech concerning educational performance. They allow Success Academy to say, in substance: 'Don't take our word for it. Our students have been measured against a national external standard.' New York has prevented Success from delivering that authenticated message through the entity that administers the standard," the suit says.
It asks the court to order Rosa to notify the College Board that it is authorized to release the Success Academy AP data to U.S. News.
A spokesman for the state education department, J.P. O'Hare, said that while the department "does not comment on potential litigation," it "takes its responsibility to protect student data seriously."
"Compliance with New York's student privacy laws is not optional, and it does not take a back seat to U.S. News & World Report's commercial ranking methodology, or any other desire to turn information about New York's children into a for-profit product," O'Hare said. "New York State's AP participation data is collected to reflect student achievement in rigorous coursework, not to rank schools. If Success Academy believes that the commercial value of student information outweighs the State's responsibility to protect it, it is free to explain as much in a lawsuit. But NYSED does not share that perspective."
He said the state education department "remains committed to transparency and currently makes extensive educational data, including AP participation information, available on its website."
Success Academy is not demanding the public release of individual test scores with student names attached. The state could claim that some schools or classes are small enough that someone could deduce a student's test score, but Success will respond that the privacy concern is a pretext for suppressing information that is unflattering to the government-operated schools.
The case, Success Academy Charter Schools-NYC v. Rosa, is before Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York. The Success network, led by former New York City Council education committee chair Eva Moskowitz, operates nearly 60 schools in New York City, educating tens of thousands of students, and is planning to open schools in Florida beginning in August 2027. Moskowitz's husband, Eric Grannis, is a litigator and is representing the network in the case.
