by Laura DudnickThe trial between The City and the commission that revoked City College of San Francisco’s accreditation will proceed as scheduled, a judge ruled this morning.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow rejected a motion to stay proceedings in the case. The motion was filed by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, which last summer revoked CCSF’s accreditation.
That means the Oct. 27 trial date remains on schedule.
Further details on Karnow’s ruling were not immediately available.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed the lawsuit against ACCJC last August, alleging that the commission treated CCSF unfairly in its accreditation review process and that there appeared to be a conflict of interest because ACCJC President Barbara Beno’s husband was part of the team that examined the school.
The commission on July 1 filed its motion to stay, following recent developments in the CCSF saga that include the creation of a restoration policy that would give the school two more years to meet accrediting standards. Additionally, an appeals panel ruled last month that the commission must reassess CCSF before its accreditation can be revoked.
Last week, the City Attorney’s Office filed an opposition to ACCJC’s motion, arguing that the commission had not confirmed whether the decision to terminate CCSF’s accreditation is “gone.”
The City Attorney’s Office “is very pleased” by Karnow’s ruling, said Gabriel Zitrin, a spokesman for the office. Paul Feist, a spokesman for the state Chancellor's Office, said the ruling is “a victory” for CCSF.
The commission last summer voted to strip CCSF of its accreditation by the end of this month unless the school had reached full accrediting compliance. Karnow has since barred ACCJC from taking any action on accreditation until the lawsuit filed by The City is resolved.
Losing accreditation would effectively force CCSF to close.