July 14, 2005 - Newark, New Jersey

In response to the NJ Department of Education’s decision to indefinitely suspend the bidding process to award a contract for a "comprehensive formal evaluation" of the Abbott programs, Education Law Center is calling on Commissioner William Librera to immediately restart the process.

The NJ Supreme Court ordered the "Abbott program evaluation" in 1998. After several years of inaction, Commissioner Librera and ELC entered into an agreement through mediation in June 2003 to fast track the process to design and launch the evaluation. The agreement was approved and ordered by the Supreme Court.

As required by the agreement, NJDOE formed an "Evaluation Work Group" to lay out the structure and content of the evaluation. The group completed this task in Fall 2004. In March 2005, the NJDOE issued a Request for Quotations (RFQ) to solicit bids for the evaluation, with a June 2005 deadline to award the contract.

In mid-June, Assistant Commissioner Gordon MacInnes announced his decision to indefinitely suspend the evaluation, citing unspecified problems with "sequence, cost, and bureaucracy."

"It’s been seven years since the Court first ordered the State to evaluate the Abbott programs," said David G. Sciarra, ELC Executive Director and Abbott Counsel. "And two years have passed since Commissioner Librera agreed to get this evaluation moving. Any further delay is unconscionable."

"There is an urgent need to learn what’s working in Abbott, and what should be changed," Mr. Sciarra added. "Without this evaluation, NJDOE is operating in the dark."

In a July 12th letter to the Commissioner, Mr. Sciarra is asking that the Work Group be immediately reconvened to address any problems with the bid, and to jump start the bidding process. "We hope the Commissioner will act quickly and avoid further litigation over this critical issue," Mr. Sciarra said.