Education Law Center (ELC) was founded in 1973 by Paul Tractenberg, then a young law professor at Rutgers Law School in Newark. Professor Tractenberg - now considered the "dean" of school finance in New Jersey and a nationally recognized scholar on the subject -- took a leave of absence from Rutgers, received a start-up grant from the Ford Foundation, and opened the doors of this tiny non-profit advocacy organization.

Professor Tractenberg had been deeply involved in the Robinson v. Cahill school finance case. He became convinced that the effort to end New Jersey's discriminatory practice of funding suburban schools at a much higher level than urban schools would take many years. He also believed that this effort must be led by school children themselves, since they suffered from the inadequate education that resulted from the state's unequal funding laws. The school children needed a voice and ELC would be it!

In 1976, the Robinson case concluded after many decisions by the New Jersey Supreme Court. The Court reluctantly approved the Public School Education Act of 1975, referred to as the "T&E" law. New Jersey's first income tax was also adopted to pay for the new funding law. Professor Tractenberg and the fledgling ELC opposed the T&E law before the Supreme Court on the grounds that, while a step in the right direction, it would not cure the wide gap in funding between urban and suburban schools.

Five years later, Professor Tractenberg's prediction became true. Data showed that the T&E law did not end funding inequities between cities and suburbs, and, in fact, the situation was getting worse.

Between 1976 and 1981, ELC was developing its capacity to analyze the school funding laws. Staff was added to work on individual complaints from parents and students on a host of education issues. In 1979, Marilyn Morheuser -- Professor Tractenberg's former student - was hired as executive director.

The decision to put Marilyn Morheuser at the helm of ELC was momentous. Marilyn did not enter law school until her mid-forties. For nearly two decades, she was as a nun with the Kentucky-based Sisters of Loretto, alternating between teaching assignments and, particularly during the 1960's, working in the civil rights movement. Her background in teaching and activism, coupled with a methodical approach to the law, more than prepared her for the success and notoriety she would enjoy as the tenacious advocate for disadvantaged public school students throughout the 1980's and early 1990's

In 1981, Marilyn filed the Abbott v. Burke case on behalf of all children attending poor and urban schools in New Jersey. She doggedly pursued the case through the 1980's as the State of New Jersey fought to keep the case from coming to trial. Finally, after five years, the trial began, taking nine months during the 1986-87 school year. A year later -- in August 1988 -- Administrative Law Judge Steven Lefelt issued his 600 page initial decision. Judge Lefelt agreed almost entirely with ELC's case.

In 1990, the Supreme Court affirmed Judge Lefelt's decision in its historic Abbott II ruling, and ordered the State to provide the urban school districts with funding at "parity" with suburban schools and other supplemental programs to address special needs. The Supreme Court then had to issue six more decisions -- in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and two in 2001 -- to assure State compliance with its ruling. With these decisions, New Jersey's urban school children now have the most comprehensive set of educational rights anywhere in the nation - a tribute to ELC's vision, skill and resolve!

In October 1995, Marilyn Morheuser passed away after a long bout with cancer. She died still fighting to get a resistant State to carry out the Supreme Court's 1990 decision in Abbott II. Education and children's rights' advocates everywhere mourned her death. Marilyn had indeed become a heroine in the cause of equal educational opportunity across the nation.

In January 1996, David Sciarra was hired as ELC's new executive director. David has spent many years as a civil rights lawyer in New Jersey, including 10 years at the New Jersey Public Advocate. Under David's leadership, ELC has greatly expanded its capacity to provide services to individual parents and groups seeking legal assistance in the resolution of problems affecting the education of poor children and children with disabilities. David also took up the Abbott case, arguing in the Supreme Court against the Whitman funding law in 1997. His work produced the landmark Abbott IV decision in 1997, resulting in parity funding for urban school children for the first time in 1997-98. He also presented the evidence in the special remand hearings in late 1997, and ELC's arguments on the need for early childhood education, school reform and facilities improvements before the Supreme Court in 1998. These arguments resulted in to the unprecedented 1998 Abbott V decision, in which the Court ordered intensive preschool, supplemental programs, facilities improvements and whole school reform.

Since 1998, David has filed several actions to enforce the Abbott rulings, resulting in the 2000 Abbott VI and Abbott VII decisions on preschool and school facilities, and the Abbott VIII preschool order in 2001. Today, ELC continues its efforts to monitor state implementation; to help build local capacity in the Abbott districts; and to facilitate coalitions of parents and community groups to improve teaching and student learning to close the achievement gap.