Following Adalah's Petition: Ministry of Education Freezes Implementation of Closure Order against Arab School Pending Review of its License Application
On 12 October 2004, Adalah submitted a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court demanding the annulment of a closure order issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) against the Yaffa Arab Democratic School. The petition was filed by Adalah Attorney Gadeer Nicola against the MOE on behalf of the League for the Arabs of Jaffa, the principal of the school, students' parents and in Adalah's own name. The petitioners also asked the Court to issue an injunction to prohibit the MOE from carrying out its closure order pending a ruling on the case.
Immediately after the submission of the petition, the District Court asked the MOE to respond to the request for an injunction within five days. On 17 October 2004, the MOE requested an additional fourteen days to examine the petitioners' license application. The MOE's request represents the first instance of its agreement to examine the license application for the school. Furthermore, the MOE committed not to enforce the closure order it issued against the school during the fourteen days, with the result that the students will be able to continue attending school for the duration of this period. The Court consented to the MOE's suggestion on 18 October 2004.
The MOE issued the closure order against the school in accordance with the School Supervision Law – 1969, on the basis that the school had no license. The Yaffa Arab Democratic School was opened at the beginning of the current school year, with an enrollment of 158 students. The school was opened hurriedly because the students' families, the teachers and the school principal were dissatisfied with new decisions made by the Orthodox School in Jaffa, including the dismissal of the school's principal, Ms. Mary Qutbi. As a consequence, several teachers resigned, and students were withdrawn from the school by their parents. The school's principal, teachers and students' parents, with the assistance of the League for the Arabs of Jaffa, decided to open an alternative school to be administered according to human rights and democratic principles, in addition to the MOE's curriculum.
In the petition, Adalah argued that the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the founding of the Yaffa Arab Democratic School left the petitioners without sufficient time to complete the application process for a license ahead of the beginning of the school year. The petitioners applied to the MOE for a license for the school on 13 September 2004, setting forth the reasons behind and circumstances surrounding the opening of the school. The request also provided details of the school's curriculum, the teaching staff and principal, as well as the number of students and classes in the school. The MOE issued its closure order before the submission of the application, and refused to review it.
On 22 September 2004, Adalah sent a letter to the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Ronit Tirosh, asking her to assess the license application. The Director General failed to respond to the letter.
Adalah contended in the petition that the closure of a school on the grounds that it has no license violates the rights of parents and students to choose in education. The right to choose in education has been recognized by the courts as a right derived from the constitutional right to personal autonomy and freedom. Adalah argued, based on previous court decisions, that obtaining a license on time is a technical requirement, which is outweighed by these constitutional rights.
Adalah further argued that the main purpose of the School Supervision Law is to ensure that schools operate according to the conditions stipulated by the law, in order to safeguard the right of students to obtain an appropriate education. The information provided in the license application fulfilled this purpose and conformed to all of the criteria for obtaining a school license, as stipulated in the law. Therefore, the fact that the school failed to obtain a license before opening should not prevent the students from attending school and realizing their basic right to education. Further, the closure order denied the families their right to due process, since they were not afforded a prior hearing.
Adalah maintained that forcing 158 students to leave the school after being educated there for two months would represent a serious infringement of their basic right to education, since they would be left without any educational framework. It is also likely to prove extremely difficult for the students and their parents to find an alternative educational framework at this stage in the school year. Moreover, even if alternative school placements were available for some of the students, these would still not be within the educational framework chosen for the students by their parents.
Case No. 1334/2004, League for the Arabs in Jaffa, et. al. v. Ministry of Education (Tel Aviv District Court)
Request for Injunction No. 20848/2004, League for the Arabs in Jaffa, et. al. v. Ministry of Education (Tel Aviv District Court)
