A Minnesota federal district court yesterday refused to issue a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to allow the Tarek ibn Ziyad Acedmy to continue to operate after the July 1 expiration of the contract with its current sponsor. The school is also embroiled in litigation with the ACLU over whether its operations violate the Establishment Clause by promoting Islam. (See prior posting.) In Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy v. Islamic Relief USA, (D MN, June 30, 2011), the court held that the controversial charter school is unlikely to prevail either on its challenge to a Minnesota statute that requires charter school sponsors to be in-state corporations, or in its contract claims against its chartering organization. TiZA had attacked the state statute on due process, equal protection, commerce clause and contracts clause grounds. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the decision. Following the court's decision, TiZA filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of its lawsuit.
The court's decision follows a ruling last night by the Minnesota Department of Education denying a second request by Novation Education Opportunities to become the school's authorizer, according to Inner Grove Heights Patch). (See prior related posting.) All of this means that TiZA likely has no choice but to close.
UPDATE: According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, on Thursday TiZA filed for bankruptcy.
