7/22/03 -- New York's highest court ordered the state to implement major funding and accountability reforms to ensure that New York City students receive a meaningful high school education.
The New York Court of Appeals' 4-1 ruling June 26 overturns a lower court's ruling in 2002 that said the state must only ensure that students receive an eighth-grade education.
The court ordered the governor and legislature to conduct a study to "ascertain the actual cost of providing a sound basic education in New York City," reform the state's funding formula to ensure necessary resources, and implement a fair accountability system to ensure that students receive "a sound basic education."
It defines a "sound basic education" as one that provides students with the skills and knowledge to "function productively as civic participants in 21st-century society."
According to the majority opinion by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, New York City schools teach the state's neediest students in a region with the highest costs, yet receive among the lowest per-pupil funds in the state.
This ruling will "end this state's long and sorry history of making children's educational opportunity a function of the wealth of their community," says Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).
"The Court of Appeals decision is a victory for every school district in the state that struggles to find resources to support its public schools," Kremer says. "The high court makes clear that resources are indeed a critical element in education achievement and that the state is ultimately responsible for ensuring those resources are adequate."
Kremer cites a 2002 study by the Education Trust that found New York has the largest gap between low-poverty and high-poverty districts in the amount of state and local revenue available per student.
The state spends $10,469 per pupil in New York City, compared to $11,040 statewide.
The decision says "tens of thousands of [New York City] students are placed in overcrowded classrooms, taught by unqualified teachers, and provided with inadequate facilities and equipment" -- resulting in "systemic failure."
The suit was filed a decade ago by a group called the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) on behalf of New York City students. CFE, a coalition of community school boards, parent organizations, and advocacy groups, charged the state failed to provide students in New York City with their constitutionally guaranteed rights to a "sound education."
Because the case was initially filed on behalf of New York City schoolchildren, the court's remedial orders technically apply only to New York City schools. But CFE's attorneys maintain any effective changes to the state funding system must be statewide and will benefit underfunded schools and districts across the state.
A concurring opinion by Judge George Bundy Smith calls for the legislature to do a cost analysis for every district in New York and ensure that they all have enough money to meet the constitutional standard.
But the majority opinion limited the remedy to New York City and warns that if other districts could show such extensive inadequacies as the city did, they "may find tougher going in the courts."
The court rejected a similar lawsuit involving the Rochester school district because it failed to prove widespread deficiencies in that district's schools.
Gov. George Pataki had fought CFE's arguments in the case. But after the decision, he told the New York Times the ruling offers a "positive opportunity for us to focus on education . . . and make sure that every single kid gets a good-quality high school education."
The state is in the midst of a financial crisis -- it faces a $5 billion deficit next year -- and any attempt to increase education spending would likely cause conflicts among state legislators. The decision did not propose a remedy, but suggested taxpayers might have to bear some of the extra costs.
According to the ruling, the state must come up with a new funding formula by July 2004.
NYSSBA and CFE are co-sponsoring a study now under way of what it would cost each district in the state to provide an adequate educational opportunity to every child that is consistent with the constitutional standard. NYSSBA also joined with CFE to sponsor community forums throughout the state and submitted friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the plaintiffs.