Suit
claims state fails to follow its own Abbott
rules
6 years later, there is no formal
plan for school reform, advocates allege
Friday, June 17, 2005 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
For all the billions spent on the Abbott
v. Burke mandates over the last six years, advocates for New
Jersey's neediest schoolchildren have returned to court to
contend the state has failed to develop a formal plan for
how it oversees the school reforms.
The Education Law Center, the Newark
organization that has led the landmark case, yesterday
announced it had filed suit in state Superior Court claiming
the state Department of Education has failed to follow its
own requirements that it develop a management plan for
Abbott.
"This is about accountability to the
state's most vulnerable children," said Koren Bell, a staff
attorney with the law center. "They get money to supervise
and manage implementation, and in effect, we don't know what
they are doing. Without this plan, there is no
accountability."
The department's top director for Abbott
oversight scoffed at the lawsuit and responded that the
department's intentions have been clear from the start and
the law center was essentially going to court over "a sheet
of paper."
"I find it bizarre that the law center
would be focusing on paperwork," said Assistant Commissioner
Gordon MacInnes. "The accountability is in the work we are
doing and the results we're getting."
The 31 Abbott districts this year alone
received about $1.6 billion in additional state aid to
implement required reforms and universal preschool, as
demanded by the state Supreme Court's ruling in
1998.
The state is required under that ruling
to develop and maintain the staff and resources to oversee
the reforms, and its own regulations specify the steps
needed in that plan. The court also demanded department
funds be earmarked for Abbott implementation, this year
amounting to $14.7 million.
Bell, of the law center, said the
department was not living up to the accountability it
requires of the Abbott districts themselves.
"This isn't some two-page write-up," she
said. "This is a substantial document."
MacInnes said with all the work the
department has accomplished, "sometimes the paperwork does
not keep up."
But he said the state would develop the
document, although the state regulations are to expire this
year and the requirement may no longer exist. "Why put it in
if it just invites litigation?" he said.
Meanwhile, the department this week filed
with the Legislature its proposal for determining which
districts should qualify for the Abbott remedies. The filing
had been expected after state Education Commissioner William
Librera finalized the proposed guidelines earlier this
year.
If approved by the Legislature and
governor, the proposal would likely winnow the list of
Abbott districts considerably.
Aiming to focus Abbott's mandates on
schools most in need, the proposal looks at a district's
socioeconomic standing and the state of its schools, based
on test scores, attendance rates and several other
factors.
An analysis by the Office of Legislative
Services found as many as 13 of the 31 districts could be
eliminated, based on the economic criteria. Librera
yesterday said if educational criteria also are included,
between three and eight could potentially be
dropped.
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@star ledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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