I want to thank the children here at Grant Elementary School for joining us. We may be talking about some grownup things today, but what we say here is all about you – and the kind of education you deserve.

Ladies and gentlemen, teachers and students -- this day has been two decades in the coming.

For more than twenty years, Trenton has stood as a barrier to a good, solid education for many of our state’s children. For more than twenty years, Trenton has prevented them from obtaining that which was rightfully theirs: equality in the classroom and equality of opportunity. Because for more than twenty years, Trenton has failed to realize what our country’s greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, knew over one hundred years ago – that "at least a moderate education appears to be an objective of vital importance."

Essentially, ladies and gentlemen, for more than twenty years, Trenton has been part of the problem.

Well, today – that all changes. Today, we end the court battles, the foot dragging, and the fighting over who should and should not receive a quality education. Because today, we are changing the way Trenton does education.

To this end, I will sign an Executive Order to establish the Abbott Implementation and Compliance Coordinating Council.

Although it has many goals, the Council will have one charge: to get the job done. To ensure that we are moving forward aggressively so that every child in this state receives a thorough and efficient education.

Twenty-one years ago this month the Education Law Center went to court on behalf of children in urban areas around the state. Children in districts like this one, and in Newark and Camden and other cities.

Almost a dozen years ago, the state Supreme Court agreed with the ELC when it ordered that the state assure equal funding among all school districts.

Since then, there has been a lot of complaining, too much stalling, and endless delays. There has been a failure to comply. But that’s going to change.

I have made it clear that my administration is about changing the way we do business in state government. While I have been in office only about one month, I want to make it clear that the status quo on Abbott is over. The time for foot dragging is past. The time for real change has begun.

Today, with the creation of the Abbott Implementation and Compliance Coordinating Council, we take a giant step toward real collaboration among all stakeholders.

The seven-member Council will include the Attorney General, the Commissioners of Education and of Human Services, and the Assistant Commissioner of Education for Abbott Implementation. Other members will be the Executive Directors of the Economic Development Authority, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Education Law Center.

My Special Counsel for Education will chair the Council and serve as an ex-officio member.

Here’s what I am asking the Council to do:

• Look at the relevant State statutes, regulations, policies and procedures in this area, and develop the needed improvements, revisions, or modifications.
   
  
• Ensure full, effective, timely, and sustained implementation of Abbott programs and reforms.
   
  
• Assess progress in this area, and make modifications and adjustments as needed.
   
  
• Make certain that the State departments and agencies are doing their part, and integrate Abbott with the new Federal guidelines.
   
  
• Track progress in implementing programs and in student achievement.
   
  
• Resolve disputes and issues and ensure that we comply with the Court mandates.

The Council will examine early childhood education, Abbott early literacy, standards-based reform and whole school reform, K to 12 supplemental programs, and school construction and rehabilitation.

They will also look into reforming and phasing-out state operation of school districts, and will conduct a review of Abbott designation, including charter schools.

I have asked the Council to begin meeting this month, and to provide annual reports on their progress. And I am requiring every State department and agency to provide them with any assistance they need.

The Council will have a full agenda, but their mission is Job Number One. As I have said repeatedly: education will be the cornerstone of my administration. And that means providing excellence in every school in every district across this state.

The children in this state deserve the best education we can provide. They are entitled to classrooms that encourage learning, and to an educational system that prepares them for both life and life-long learning.

Our children are the future of this great state. They will make up our future workforce. They will be our community leaders, our concerned parents, and our committed teachers. And nothing we do today is as important as the investment we make in our children.

On their behalf, I am very pleased to sign this Executive Order.