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POOR CHILDREN STILL NEED COURT PROTECTION
ELC filed papers on Wednesday with the NJ
Supreme Court opposing the State's request to stop providing
extra help for poor children and schools, as ordered in the
landmark Abbott v. Burke litigation. Read
More....
EDUCATION JUSTICE SPONSORS QUALITY EDUCATION
CONFERENCE
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On
June 11-12, 2008, Education Justice – ELC's new
national initiative on behalf of public school children
– will co-sponsor "Exploring New Horizons for
Equal Educational Opportunity," a conference bringing
together plaintiff litigators, education advocates,
and policy experts to engage in an exploration of education
reform. Conference
Details....
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DO ABBOTT DISTRICTS SPEND THE MOST PER PUPIL?
Find out the real answer and help us bust
another myth about New Jersey's high poverty urban schools
and its students. Read
Now....
NJ MISSTEPS ON SECONDARY REFORM PLAN: NEW
TESTS, NO NEW RESOURCES
On April 25, the New Jersey High School
Redesign Steering Committee released its long-awaited recommendations
for secondary reform in a report entitled NJ
Steps: Re-designing Education in NJ for the 21st Century.
Although the report urges six new high-stakes exams and “a
fundamental change in public education in the state that will
affect students in all grades,” the committee did not propose
any new resources to support its recommendations. Read
More....
STATE BOARD VOTES TO RETAIN ALTERNATIVE
ROUTE TO GRADUATION
At its March 19 meeting, the New Jersey
State Board of Education passed a resolution to retain and
reform the Special Review Assessment (SRA), the alternative
high school assessment used in recent years by over 10,000
students to earn a high school diploma. The Board’s action
followed a year-long campaign by advocates and stakeholders,
including Education Law Center, to reverse plans to eliminate
the alternative route to a diploma. Read
More....
APPELLATE COURT REQUIRES NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN BACON DISTRICTS
A New Jersey appellate court directed the
Commissioner of Education to carry out a needs assessment
of the so-called Bacon school districts. In an opinion released
on March 14, the court found the assessment to be a prerequisite
for determining whether the new school funding formula enacted
by the State Legislature in January provides an appropriate
remedy for these poor, rural districts. Read
More....
GOVERNOR & LEGISLATURE GET THIRD CHANCE TO FUND SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
In an order issued today, the NJ Supreme
Court has given Governor Corzine and legislators a third chance
to approve $2.5 billion in new construction funds to restart
numerous stalled school projects in Abbott districts. Read
More....
PUBLIC ACCESS TO SCHOOL FUNDING ALTERNATIVES HEADED FOR SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN
The NJ Supreme Court has announced it will
review a December 11, 2007 Appellate Court decision ordering
the Education Department to release to the public a 2003 memo
containing alternative school funding formulas, setting up
a showdown on the Corzine administration's legal strategy
for keeping background research, data and other documents
under wraps. Read
More....
BILL PLACING BURDEN OF PROOF ON DISTRICTS NOW LAW
ELC leads efforts which result in passage
of a bill that places the burdens of proof and production
on school districts in special education due process hearings.
Read
More....
ELC ASKS GOVERNOR TO WAIT TO APPLY NEW FORMULA
TO ABBOTTS
Lawyers for urban school children at Education
Law Center (ELC) have asked Governor Jon Corzine to exempt
the Abbott districts from the new school funding formula until
the State Supreme Court has had the opportunity to review
the constitutionality of the new law. Read
More....
REPORT ON SCHOOLYARD PLANNING AND DESIGN
RELEASED
NJIT’s Center for Architecture and Building
Science Research (CABSR) has published a report that explores
ways of enhancing outdoor play and learning through more effective
schoolyard design. The report, titled "Schoolyard Planning
and Design in New Jersey," was developed jointly by CABSR
and Education Law Center at the request of the New Jersey
Department of Education (DOE). Read
More....
EDUCATION LAW CENTER LAUNCHES NATIONAL INITIATIVE
Education Law Center (ELC) today launched
a new, expanded national initiative on behalf of public school
children – Education Justice – as announced by ELC Executive
Director David Sciarra. Education Justice (EdJustice) at ELC
will support advocates, policymakers, attorneys and others,
in states across the nation, who are working to strengthen
and improve public schools, especially those schools serving
low-income and minority students. Read
More....
ELC SUPPORTS PLAN TO RETAIN ALTERNATIVE
GRADUATION ASSESSMENT
Education Law Center testified before the
New Jersey State Board of Education on January 9 in support
of a plan that would revise, rather than eliminate, the state’s
alternative assessment for high school graduation. The new
proposal follows a yearlong public campaign by ELC and other
advocates to block attempts to eliminate the Special Review
Assessment (SRA). Read
More.... 



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