LEONOR ALCANTARA, individually and as Guardian ad Litem for E.A.; JUANA PEREZ, individually and as Guardian at Litem for Y.P.; TATIANA ESCOBAR; HENRY MORO;AND IRA SCHULMAN, individually and as Guardian ad Litem for A.S. V. ANGELICA ALLEN-MCMILLAN, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, NEW JERSEY STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 5/12/23, (#142-23)

OAL Dkt. No. 11069-14
Agency Dkt. No. 156-6/14
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Order on Emergent Relief
Leonor Alcantara, individually and as Guardian
ad Litem for E.A.; Leslie Johnson, individually
and as Guardian ad Litem for D.J.; Juana Perez,
individually and as Guardian ad Litem for Y.P.;
Tatiana Escobar; Henry Moro and Ira
Schulman, individually and as Guardian ad
Litem for A.S.,
Petitioners,
v.
Angelica Allen Mc-Millan, Acting Commissioner
of the New Jersey Department of Education;
New Jersey State Board of Education; and New
Jersey Department of Education,
Respondents.
The motion for emergent relief filed by petitioners and the opposition thereto filed by
respondents have been reviewed and considered.
In a 2014 petition1 filed against the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, the New
Jersey Department of Education (Department), and the New Jersey State Board of Education
(collectively, “respondents”), petitioners alleged that the Lakewood Township Board of
Education (Lakewood) is unable to provide its public school students with a thorough and
efficient education (T&E) because it does not receive sufficient funding under the School
1 Petitioners amended their petition on September 4, 2018.
142-23

2
Funding Reform Act, N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-43 to -70 (SFRA). Following proceedings at the Office of
Administrative Law (OAL), the Commissioner issued a decision concluding that petitioners failed
to meet the threshold inquiry of establishing Lakewood’s failure to provide T&E; accordingly,
the Commissioner did not reach the issue of the constitutionality of the SFRA. Alcantara v.
Hespe, Commissioner Decision No. 149-21 (July 16, 2021). Petitioners appealed, and the
Appellate Division reversed and remanded the matter with instructions for the Commissioner
to consider petitioners’ substantive arguments pertaining to the SFRA. Alcantara v. Allen-
McMillan, 475 N.J. Super. 58 (App. Div. Mar. 6, 2023). On May 1, 2023, petitioners filed a
motion for emergent relief, seeking an Order that the Commissioner would issue a final
decision on the remand from the Appellate Division no later than May 15, 2023.
On May 12, 2023, the Commissioner issued a letter directing the Department to
expedite the comprehensive review of the Lakewood school district referenced in Alcantara v.
Hespe, supra. The Commissioner indicated that the information that comprised the record
before the OAL, the Commissioner, and the Appellate Division is now outdated and found that
an updated record is required in order to make an appropriately informed decision about the
SFRA and its application to Lakewood. The comprehensive review, as well as an opportunity for
petitioners and Lakewood to respond to the resulting report and recommendations, will occur
prior to the issuance of a final agency decision on the as-applied constitutionality of the SFRA.
Upon review of petitioner’s motion for emergent relief, and in light of the May 12, 2023
letter, the Commissioner concludes that the motion must be denied, as it is now moot. “A case
is technically moot when the original issue presented has been resolved . . .”. DeVesa v.
Dorsey, 134 N.J. 420, 428 (1993). With the Commissioner’s determination of a schedule for the

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proceedings in this matter, as outlined in the May 12, 2023, letter, there is no longer any
question pertaining to the timing of her decision that requires resolution.
Accordingly, petitioners’ motion for emergent relief is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
ACTING COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision:
Date of Mailing:
May 12, 2023
May 12, 2023