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On February 19, 2002, Governor James McGreevey
signed Executive
Order No. 6 creating the Abbott Implementation and
Compliance Coordinating Council, or the "Abbott Compliance
Council." The purpose of the Council is to ensure ongoing State
compliance with the Abbott rulings through cooperation and collaboration,
and to eliminate or, at least, minimize court intervention.
The Council consists of the parties to the Abbott
litigation – the Education Law Center on behalf of the plaintiff
school children and the Commissioner of Education and other key
state officials for the defendant, the State of New Jersey. The
Council offers ELC the opportunity to work collaboratively with
State officials to ensure that they are taking effective and timely
action to implement the programs and reforms mandated by the Abbott
rulings. The Council meets every month to assess the status of State
implementation efforts. The Council can also recommend that the
State establish stakeholder work groups on specific issues to assist
state agencies in developing new policies and guidelines to improve
program implementation.
ELC agreed to participate in the Council for several
reasons.
- ELC’s success in court has resulted in
the most comprehensive framework of programs and reforms for the
education of disadvantaged children anywhere in the nation, with
most of the court-ordered funding already in place at the district
level. The challenges now are to implement the Abbott programs
effectively; to make sure Abbott funding is properly utilized,
and to demonstrate progress in improving student achievement.
- In 2000 and 2002, the NJ Supreme Court rejected
ELC’s plea for a special master to oversee State implementation.
Instead, the Court has made it clear it wants the Abbott programs
and reforms implemented through cooperation and collaboration
of the parties and among key stakeholders.
- Governor McGreevey has publicly pledged to abide
by the Abbott rulings, and has committed his administration to
working with ELC and key stakeholders to meet the letter and spirit
of those rulings.
- The framework established for ELC to work with
the State - the Abbott Council - facilitates the establishment
of collaborative work groups of stakeholders (teachers, parents,
superintendents, etc.) to fix the flawed implementation of whole
school reform, preschool, school construction and other elements
of the Abbott rulings.
- ELC retains its right to return to court at
any time should a major breakdown occur and we are unable to get
the administration to comply.
The Council represents a new approach for ELC in
the ongoing struggle to ensure an adequate education for urban school
children. In the implementation phase, advocacy strategies other
than litigation will become essential to achieve this goal. While
ELC will use a variety of such strategies given the context we find
ourselves in, our advocacy with the State remains the same - to
ensure full, effective and timely implementation of the Abbott programs
and reforms so urban children receive an education that enables
them to compete with their suburban peers.
ABBOTT
WORK GROUPS
On recommendation from the Compliance
Council, the State, as of July 2002, has formed five work groups
to address the issues and problems that have hampered State implementation
of the Abbott programs and reforms. The five work groups are: school
facilities, early
childhood education, measuring
student achievement, K-12
education improvement, and
school governance.
Each group is made up of representative stakeholders, including
superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, DOE staff and researchers.
The State has also agreed to form a work group to address issues
facing charter schools.
Additional Information:
Remarks
of Governor James E. McGreevey, February 29, 2002: Announcement
of Abbott Implementation and Compliance Coordinating Council
Remarks
of David Sciarra at the Public Education Institute (PEI) Roundtable
Meeting on Education Advocacy, April 5, 2002, explaining ELC's reasons
for joining the Abbott Compliance Council
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