A federal judge Thursday refused to intervene in TIDE Academy’s plans to close, rejecting parents’ emergency request to stop the Menlo Park school from permanently shutting down.
U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson said she sympathized with the families, but found the situation lacked “real urgency” and did not warrant emergency relief, noting the school is not scheduled to close until June 30. She “reluctantly” declined to stop the closure process, and scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for May, urging both sides to pursue court-assisted mediation before the school year ends.
“This is one I spent a great deal of reflection on,” Thompson said. “I encourage parties to engage in dialogue, and to recognize common goals.”
Opened in 2019 with at least $50 million in bond funds, TIDE Academy is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics-focused high school built to serve 400 students. It currently enrolls about 200, down from 242 in 2022-23. Citing a widening budget deficit, the school board voted Feb. 4 to close the school this summer and move students to Woodside High School for the 2026-27 school year.
Nearly 37% of TIDE’s students have an IEP or a 504 plan — more than double the rate at other Sequoia Union district campuses. An IEP provides specialized instruction and learning goals for students with disabilities that affect their academic performance. A 504 plan offers formal accommodations — such as extra time on exams or physical adjustments to a classroom — to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to learning.
At the heart of the case is whether federal disability law protects a student’s specific school placement, or simply guarantees services regardless of campus.
Parents argued TIDE’s small-school environment functions as a legally protected “structural accommodation” for these students. Parents’ attorneys pointed to a March 12 deadline under state law requiring districts to notify teachers of reassignment or non-reelection — arguing that once staffing changes are set in motion, the closure becomes effectively irreversible well before June 30.
The district countered that maintaining the school was “fiscally unsustainable” and that forcing it to stay open would reduce services districtwide. Officials also argued that the school’s plans are transferable to other campuses.
Thompson said that while the motion “falls short” of a temporary restraining order, the district owes families “transparency, honesty and grace.” The school district met late Wednesday to discuss transition plans, with a student placement deadline set for later this month that the court declined to stall.
Jason Primuth, a Menlo Park parent whose child attends TIDE, said litigation was never the goal.
“But it is our only option to meaningfully affect the process,” Primuth said. “The parents are willing to invest in lawyers because the district never listened.”
A district spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. A preliminary injunction hearing — which will determine whether the school must remain open during the 2026-27 school year — is scheduled for May.
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