Abbott v. Burke "may be the most significant
education case since the Supreme Court's desegregation
ruling nearly 50 years ago."
– New York Times, February 2002
Abbott is "one of the most remarkable and
successful efforts by any court in the nation to cut an
educational break for kids from poor families and generally
minority-dominated urban neighborhoods."
– New Jersey Lawyer, October 2001
The Education Law Center
represents the plaintiff-class of over 300,000 school-age
children and 54,000 preschoolers in the Abbott v. Burke
case. These students and youngsters attend public
school and preschool in 30 urban communities across New
Jersey.
In a series of landmark rulings in the Abbott case, the
New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered the most comprehensive
set of programs and reforms for the education of disadvantaged
students anywhere in the nation.
The Abbott
legal framework includes:
Standards-based education driven by State
content standards and supported by per-pupil funding
equal to spending in successful suburban schools.
Education program comparability with suburban
schools to emulate their "recipe for success".
Required and needed supplemental ("at-risk")
programs to "wipe- out" student disadvantages,
including well-planned, high quality preschool education
for all three-and four- year olds.
Comprehensive
educational improvement to deliver the Abbott programs
and reforms at the school site.
New and rehabilitated
facilities to adequately house all programs, relieve overcrowding,
and eliminating health and safety violations.
State assurance
of adequate funding and full, effective and timely implementation
in districts and schools.
The
goal of these Abbott programs and reforms is to close
the achievement gap between urban students and their suburban
peers.
The
Abbott Schools Initiative:
As the legal representative of the school children, Education
Law Center must advocate for improvements in student achievement
by holding the State, districts and schools accountable
for effective implementation of the Abbott programs and
reforms. In 1998, Education Law Center established the
Abbott Schools Initiative (ASI) to undertake this work.
The ASI:
Provides information, technical assistance
and training to teachers, school management teams, parents
and community organizations.
Conducts research to closely track implementation.
Facilitates and supports statewide and local coalitions
to promote full implementation of the Abbott educational
improvement, school construction and preschool programs.
Advocates for
improvements in State implementation.
Represents students,
parents and school management teams to ensure district
and school compliance.
ASI is a multi-disciplinary
effort, reflecting the need to combine expertise on urban
school reform with educational research, parent and community
engagement, and advocacy strategies.
ASI
is led by Steve Block, Director of School Reform Initiatives,
and includes research and advocacy staff working
as a team on a set of priority projects.
