Parents Defending Education v. Croton-Harmon school district: Federal judge dismisses case--just what PDE asked for. [Updated July 12]

A hearing in front of U.S.Judge Cathy Seibel to set a schedule for the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, and defendant's deadline to Answer the Complaint, takes an unexpected turn.

Left:The Hon. Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse in White Plains. Right: U.S. Judge Cathy Seibel

WHITE PLAINS—A thirty minute hearing in front of U.S. district judge Cathy Seibel of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) White Plains branch gave the plaintiffs, Parents Defending Education and three anonymous Croton-Harmon parents, pretty much everything they asked for. Judge Seibel dismissed the case as well as PDE’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would block the school district from enforcing its anti-harassment, anti-bullying, anti-racist, and pro-DEI policies.

If this seems at first glance like a lose-lose for PDE, pretty much the opposite is true. As we reported earlier, PDE’s attorneys knew they did not have “standing” to bring the lawsuit under current judicial precedent in the U.S. Second Circuit, of which SDNY is a part, because the three parents wanted to remain anonymous.