Ensuring Every New York Child Their Constitutional Right to a Sound Basic Education
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COURT
OF APPEALS REMEDIAL ORDER
What is a Sound Basic Education? In their June
26, 2003 decision, the Court of Appeals held that a "sound
basic education," as guaranteed by the New York State constitution,
requires that all students have the "opportunity for a meaningful
high school education, one which prepares them to function productively
as civic participants."
A New Funding System The Court issued the following three-part remedy:
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In 1993, CFE filed a constitutional challenge to the state school funding system. The lawsuit, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. v. State of New York claimed that the state' school finance system under-funded New York City public schools and denied its students their constitutional right to the opportunity to a sound basic education.
In 1995, CFE won a major victory when the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, decided that the New York State constitution requires that the state offer all children the opportunity for a "sound basic education." The Court stated that the exact meaning of this standard could only be evaluated and resolved after the case went to trial. In 1999, the case went before State Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse, who on January 10, 2001, issued a detailed decision carefully analyzing the evidence gathered during the 7-month trial and found that the current state school funding system was unconstitutional. Then Governor George E. Pataki appealed the decision and on June 25, 2002, the Appellate Division, First Department of the State Supreme Court, reversed the DeGrasse order. The Appellate Court held that the state constitution only guarantees that schools provide the opportunity to learn at an 8th or 9th grade skill level and found that the current funding system sufficiently allowed for this.
On June 26, 2003, in a 4-1 decision, the Court of Appeals overturned the
Appellate Division ruling and found in favor of CFE. The Court rejected
the 8th grade standard, noting that a "high school education is now
all but indispensable" to prepare students for employment and civic
engagement. The box on the right details the Court of Appeals order, which
the State had until July 30, 2004 to implement. On August 3, the court
appointed three special referees to handle the state's non-compliance
in the case and develop a plan that would have resolved the funding inadequacies
created by the school funding formulas. On February 14, 2005, Justice
Leland DeGrasse affirmed their recommendations, concluding that New York
City schools need an additional $5.63 billion in operating aid and $9.2
billion for facilities to provide their students their constitutional
right to the opportunity for a sound basic education. The Appellate Division
of the Supreme Court affirmed the Supreme Court ruling on appeal, ordering
the State to provide New York City's schools $4.7 to $5.63 billion in
operating aid and $9.2 billion in capital funding by April 1, 2006.
A Statewide Remedy
Over the years, CFE has worked with its statewide partners to bring
about statewide funding reform. Though the Court of Appeals decision focused
on reforms affecting only New York City, CFE always maintained that the
order must apply statewide and affirms its commitment to ensuring the
opportunity for a sound basic education to all children in New York State.
Following final ruling in the litigation and the recent enactment of sweeping
school finance reform legislation, CFE works to influence policy and oversee
accountability in implementation of the ruling and the school aid reforms
that resulted from it.
The public continues to play a critical role in convincing state representatives to do the right thing for New York's schools. We urge you to get involved in CFE's efforts to ensure all schools have the resources they need to help all children succeed in school, as we turn CFE law into CFE reality.