June 16, 2005 – Newark, NJ

Education Law Center has sued the NJ Department of Education over its failure to comply with its own regulations requiring the agency to have a plan for managing the Abbott programs and reforms. The suit, filed with Superior Court Judge Neil Shuster in Trenton, asks the Court to order NJDOE to have the management plan ready before September, and obtain input from parents, administrators and other stakeholders before finalizing the plan.

Judge Shuster has scheduled a hearing on the ELC complaint on July 20^th at the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton.

Under current Abbott regulations, the NJDOE is required to prepare a three-year plan for the "transformation" of the Division of Abbott Implementation so that it can "successfully lead the State’s efforts to improve teaching and learning in the Abbott school districts." The plan must address "the recruitment, retention, professional development and effective deployment of Division staff and consultants" and include "annual goals and objectives with benchmarks" to assess progress made by NJDOE in implementing Abbott. NJDOE must "solicit the advice of Abbott stakeholders" in preparing the plan.

NJDOE must also prepare a budget to support the plan. The Legislature annually transfers $15 million in "parity" funds from the Abbott districts to the NJDOE to enable the agency to effectively manage and supervise the Abbott reforms.

ELC filed the complaint following a recent disclosure by Assistant Commissioner for Abbott Implementation Gordon MacInnes that the required plan had not been prepared.

"The bottom line is simple. The State must account for its performance in improving the quality of education provided to children attending our urban schools," said Koren Bell, the ELC attorney handing this case. "This means that NJDOE has to operate under the same standards it expects of the Abbott districts and schools."