William Brewer Writes in The Dallas Morning News in Support of Releasing Texas School Accountability Ratings

September 15, 2024 -- The Dallas Morning News published a letter to the editor written by Brewer Partner and Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) founder William A. Brewer III calling for the release of Texas school accountability ratings.

The FLP is a is an award-winning public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to economically disadvantaged students in the Dallas Independent School District.  The Brewer Foundation on September 5, 2024, filed a petition in intervention in Travis County court on behalf of its Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (“FLP”), seeking the release of the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) 2024 A-F accountability ratings for school districts and campuses.

On August 12, 2024, a Travis County judge blocked the scheduled release of the school ratings with a temporary restraining order after five school districts (located across West and South Texas) sued Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath in Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, et al., v. Mike Morath.

The Foundation is represented by the Brewer Storefront – the community service affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.

The full text of the letter as it appeared in the Sunday edition of the newspaper is below:

Release school ratings

Re: “Why we released our schools’ ratings,” by Joe Carreón and Robert Selders Jr., Monday Opinion.

It is encouraging to see Dallas ISD School Board President Joe Carreón call for two items of importance in Texas education: accountability and transparency. Both are in short supply these days in public education — as several school districts recently brought a Travis County lawsuit to block the Texas Education Agency from releasing school ratings statewide. Meanwhile, DISD and a handful of other districts took the lead in releasing their preliminary ratings.

The accountability rating system is an A-F methodology that evaluates districts and schools. By definition, the system promotes awareness of educational challenges, helps identify best practices and instills confidence in parents and students. The ratings also spark interest and engagement — as we all work collectively to improve the educational system in our state.

Our law firm’s community service legal affiliate, Brewer Storefront, filed a petition to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of our Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program seeking the release of the ratings. The FLP is a public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to DISD students. We will argue the issue before the court to give a voice to schools, students and communities.

The plaintiff school districts face considerable challenges with student achievement, with between 51% and 73% of students not meeting grade level last year on STAAR exams. We need a system that identifies such problems and inspires the corrective actions necessary to improve schools. It is not only the Texas educational system that depends on this, but also the future generations it serves.

William A. Brewer III

Brewer Foundation Intervenes in Travis County Demanding Greater Accountability and Transparency for Public Schools

September 5, 2024, Dallas, Texas… The Brewer Foundation on September 5, 2024, filed a petition in intervention (“petition”) on behalf of its Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (“FLP”), seeking the release of the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) 2024 A-F accountability ratings for school districts and campuses.

On August 12, 2024, a Travis County judge blocked the scheduled release of the school ratings with a temporary restraining order after five school districts (located across West and South Texas) sued Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath in Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, et al., v. Mike Morath.

The Foundation is represented by the Brewer Storefront – the community service affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. The petition seeks to dissolve the temporary restraining and prevent a permanent injunction – paving the way for greater accountability in these school districts across Texas.

The FLP is an award-winning public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to economically disadvantaged students in the Dallas Independent School District. The program maintains relationships with educators across the state, has been recognized by the Texas State Board of Education and Texas Governor’s Office, and advocates for improved educational offerings in Texas and beyond.

“The plaintiff districts are attempting to prevent the release of grades that help educators and parents better understand how their local public schools are performing and how well they are educating children,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and founder of the FLP. “We support the call for greater transparency. As we know from our work with FLP students, identifying the opportunities to improve the educational system is the key to addressing educational performance – to the benefit of children and our collective futures.”

According to the petition, only about 53% of students in Texas meet grade level in English language arts and reading, and around 23% of students across all districts in Texas are not even approaching grade level. These numbers are even more drastic when Black and Hispanic student scores are isolated. Across the State, more than 59% of Black students and 54% of Hispanic students fail to read at grade level.

According to the TEA, the ratings are based on three domains: student achievement, school progress, and closing the gaps.

The Storefront has brought numerous successful Section 2 Voting Rights Act cases on behalf of Hispanic and Black voters in Texas, in efforts to ensure that the interests of minority voters – and children – are better represented on elected school boards. The Storefront’s Texas Voting Rights Initiative (TVRI) was founded due to concerns that a lack of diversity and equitable geographic representation on school boards can lead to underfunded schools, school and student achievement gaps, and disenfranchised voters.

Founded in 2001, the FLP is an academic and leadership development program that benefits Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students, ages 12-18, and provides them with year-round academic coursework and leadership training to prepare students for success in college and beyond. The FLP has become a national model to address the “dropout epidemic.”

The petition adds that the Brewer Foundation has a “vested interest” in the availability of the A-F performance ratings so the students in the FLP program and their parents can make “informed school decisions.”

The petition observes that the five plaintiff school districts face considerable challenges with student achievement:

• Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District in West Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,776 students, of whom about 72% were economically disadvantaged and 91% were Hispanic. In 2023, 66% of students did not meet grade level.

• Crandall Independent School District outside of Dallas in 2022-23 enrolled 6,003 students of whom about 62% were economically disadvantaged, about 40% were Hispanic, 31% were white and 25% were Black. In 2023, about 60% of students did not meet grade level.

• Forney Independent School District outside of Dallas in 2022-23 enrolled 16,211 students, of whom about 43% were economically disadvantaged, 36% of students were Black and 29% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 51% of students did not meet grade level.

• Fort Stockton Independent School District in West Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,187 students, of whom about 71% were economically disadvantaged and 89% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 65% of students did not meet grade level.

• Kingsville Independent School District in South Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,694 students, of whom about 83% were economically disadvantaged and 85% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 73% of students did not meet grade level.

The petition seeks dissolution of the temporary restraining order – and denial of plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction prohibiting the issuance of accountability ratings for the 2023-24 school year.

Free Speech Group Supports NRA

August 19, 2024 – Law360 reports on an amicus brief filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in support of Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). As reported, “A former New York state official isn't immune from the National Rifle Association’s suit claiming she violated the group's rights by pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with it, a free speech group told the Second Circuit on Monday, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the dispute.”

The report says that, in an amicus brief filed in support of the NRA, FIRE said granting former New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo qualified immunity “would telegraph just how officials can avoid constitutional limits by slightly modifying or softening their coercive statements.”

In a unanimous decision in May, the U.S. Supreme Court said the NRA plausibly alleged that Vullo violated the group’s First Amendment rights by coercing DFS-regulated banks and insurers into cutting ties with the NRA. The NRA and Vullo filed Supplemental Letter Briefs on July 29, 2024.

To read more, click here.

Best Lawyers Names Senior Associate Gizem Petrosino to 2025 "Ones to Watch" List

August 15, 2024- Senior Associate Gizem Petrosino has been selected to the fifth edition of the 2025 Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch" in America list. Petrosino earned the recognition in the practice area of Labor and Employment Litigation for the second consecutive year. She was also selected for the 2024 "Ones to Watch" list.

Using a peer review methodology, Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognizes attorneys for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice. The recipients have typically been in practice for five to nine years. Candidates are nominated, and then go through a rigorous peer review process before being nationally recognized. 

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in the publication signals not only legal expertise but also ethics and professionalism of the highest caliber.

Petrosino's practice focuses on complex commercial, construction, intellectual property, securities and employment litigation. She has achieved early dismissals and dispositive motion awards, in addition to negotiating favorable settlements for clients. She has admissions in both New York and Texas and has practiced extensively in both jurisdictions and numerous federal and state courts across the nation. 

The New York Times Reports on Brewer Trial Win

July 29, 2024 – The New York Times reported today on the National Rifle Association of America’s (NRA) trial outcome in Manhattan, calling the verdict a “win” that represents “the beginning of the end of a four-year-old case” brought by the New York Attorney General (NYAG). As reported in the article, “Judge Lets NRA Keep Its Independence but Pushes for Reforms,” the NYAG was seeking the appointment of a court-appointed monitor over the NRA.

As reported, “…Justice Joel M. Cohen of Manhattan Supreme Court said he wanted further assurances that the NRA would reform its governance practices.” The Times reports, “The NRA has held off the most severe regulatory outcomes. Even before the trial, it persuaded Justice Cohen to reject Ms. James’s attempt to dissolve the group, which she referred to as a ‘terrorist organization’ when she was running for office. And on Monday, the NRA beat back her effort to impose a court-appointed monitor who would have had broad authority over its finances and practices.”

William A. Brewer III, the NRA’s lead outside counsel, said Monday’s developments “validate the NRA’s reform efforts and commitment to good governance — and recognize the First Amendment stakes of this case.”

Read more here.

New York Sun Editorial Highlights NRA Legal Success

August 1, 2024 – The New York Sun published an editorial today, “New York’s Gift to the NRA,” that chronicles the “volley of victories” achieved by Brewer client, the NRA. The editorial reports that a New York judge “rebuffed the effort by Attorney General Letitia James to impose a ‘monitor’ on the NRA, which she’d earlier sought to dissolve.”

The editorial also comments on the NRA’s recent unanimous victory before the U.S. Supreme Court – in response to a financial “blacklisting campaign” undertaken by former New York state financial regulator Maria Vullo.

The Sun writes, “These victories couldn’t be more timely” as America nears the upcoming election.

Brewer Client NRA Emerges From Trial Proceedings Without Monitor, Positioned for Future

July 29, 2024 – Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) today commented on the conclusion of trial proceedings in New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James’ lawsuit against the Association – announcing it emerged from the proceedings without the appointment of a monitor and remains positioned for a bright future.

Four years ago, the NYAG filed a “dissolution lawsuit” against the NRA – a case that sought to shut down the Association and seize its assets. Today, New York State Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen in Manhattan rejected the NYAG’s demands for a compliance monitor and instead recommended the NRA and NYAG confer to consent to further governance reforms. In accordance with the court’s direction, the NRA will suggest additional reforms in furtherance of its ongoing commitment to good governance.

The NYAG sought something vastly different: a “monitor” that would have been an invasive and crippling remedy with financial oversight, access to employees and records, and an open line of communication with the NYAG. That proposal was rejected by the court.

“Key facts and a chorus of voices established that the relief sought by the NYAG was unwarranted,” says NRA counsel William A. Brewer III. “The NRA organized its defense around an important reality: there was no evidence the NRA Board of Directors condoned the violations in question; instead, the board acted when it became aware of deviations from its own controls. That said, the Association takes seriously its commitment to stay in strict compliance with all controls.”

Joining Brewer in representing the NRA were partners Sarah B. Rogers, Svetlana M. Eisenberg, and Noah B. Peters.

Read reporting on the court's ruling from Courthouse News, Law360, and The New York Times.

Courthouse News: NRA Expert Accuses State of Political Prosecution at NY Bench Trial

July 25, 2024 – Courthouse News reports that a non-profit governance expert for Brewer's client, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), "lambasted the New York attorney general on Thursday [July 25, 2024] for requesting a court-appointed monitor to supervise the group’s ongoing compliance efforts."

“A monitor in this situation is crazy, unprecedented,” expert Daniel Kurtz testified Thursday during phase two trial proceedings in NYAG v. NRA. “I’ve never seen anything like this happen.”

Currently a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, Kurtz previously served as Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge of the Charities Bureau in the New York State Attorney General's office.

According to the Courthouse News reporting, during his testimony, Kurtz "accused the state of targeting the NRA for political reasons and asking for unreasonable relief." 

“I see New York State both persecuting and prosecuting the NRA,” Kurtz said of this case, acknowledging the NRA is “politically unpopular” in New York.

Per documents filed in the case, the NYAG's office is requesting that the judge overseeing the bench trial appoint a monitor to oversee the NRA for a period of three years. Kurtz argued that such an appointment would result in both employees and members leaving the NRA in droves.

Kurtz testified, “There’s never been a situation, to my knowledge, in which a monitor has been appointed to reform the ‘nonprofit governance’ of an organization” – equating New York’s pursuit of the NRA to McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s.

As the report states, the NRA argued in court his week that the organization is on the right track, noting that it has recently hired a chief compliance officer and established new internal protocols.

Read the report here.