CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit against school officials attempting to end the use of Common Core and in the state.
The Supreme Court denied Del. Michael Folk's lawsuit, which was filed in April in Berkeley Circuit Court against Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, state Superintendent of School Michal J. Martirano, the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Board of Education, state Treasurer John D. Perdue, the Office of the Treasurer, Secretary of Administration Jason Pizatella and the Office of Administration and the State of West Virginia.
Folk withdrew that complaint in June and filed a similar one with the Supreme Court in July. His goal was to end the use of Common Core and its standardized testing for West Virginia students.
"The court is of the opinion that a rule should not be awarded, and the writ prayed for by the petitioner is hereby refused," the Oct. 14 dismissal document states.
In September, attorneys representing the state school board asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the case, claiming the lawsuit was just a political stunt.
The Supreme Court's decision granted the board's motion to dismiss, stating that Folk's claim should not be awarded.
Ben Bailey of Bailey & Glasser, who represented Tomblin and other state agencies and officials, issued a press release, stating that the lawsuit was a "purely political attack without judicial merit and flawed on so many procedural levels that it should be promptly thrown out."
"The Supreme Court’s decision, we hope, will put an end to Folk’s quixotic legal crusade," the press release stated.
The Board of Education was also represented by Michael Hissam, Ryan Donovan, and Maryl Sattler, all of Bailey & Glasser.
The West Virginia Department of Education is currently conducting a comprehensive review of the education standards adopted in 2010.
The West Virginia Legislature attempted to repeal the standards during the 2015 session, but the bill died in committee.
Common Core is a set of grade-level expectations in math and English that ensures public school students across the country get the same basic education.