List of CFE Publications


Studies in Judicial Remedies and Public Engagement: Volume Two

"Who's in Control? The Courts, the Legislature and the Public in Colorado's School Finance Debate" by Christina Burnett and Drew Dunphy (June 1999) ; $8.00.

Analyzes effects of three litigations on state school finance system even without a major plaintiff victory; examines effects of state constitutional amendments dramatically limiting school funding increases; describes advocacy efforts, new attention to capital funding problems, and growing awareness of the need for statewide public dialogue.

"Rapid Response, Radical Reform: The Story of School Finance Litigation in Vermont" by Michael A. Rebell and Jeffrey Metzler (October 2000); $8.00.

Analyzes one of the most far-reaching fiscal equity remedies in the nation; examines reform initiatives of legislature and rapid response to state court decision that also established important new precedents for defining an adequate education; looks at strong backlash against funding reform and examines potential benefits of public engagement in addressing school funding conflict.

"Moving Mountains in the Granite State: Reforming School Finance and Defining Adequacy in New Hampshire" by Drew Dunphy (March 2001); $8.00.

Analyzes the effects of the Claremont decisions on the state school finance system and the sweeping changes and heated debates spurred in two separate but related areas: taxation and educational adequacy. Examines the New Hampshire experience, which raises some of the most difficult questions about finance reform, adequacy, accountability and economic justice, at implementing reform principles through a process that may require a more comprehensive public dialogue and change in political will before the state sees a lasting solution to its school funding crisis.

Full subscription to Volume 2 of Studies in Judicial Remedies and Public Engagement (6 papers): $40.00.

Volume One

"All Eyes Forward: Public Engagement and Fiscal Equity in Kentucky" by Molly A. Hunter (April 1998); $5.00. [photocopy only]

Traces fifteen years of advocacy and public engagement to help implement a court decision and some of the most extensive education reforms ever enacted; provides a comprehensive overview of court orders and reform legislation; describes the work of advocacy groups whose activities have never before been significantly documented.

"Building Plans for Reform: Alabama’s School Finance Litigation" by Jeffrey Scott Berman and Drew Dunphy (July 1998); $5.00. [photocopy only]

Examines advocates and plaintiffs’ struggles to implement a sweeping court-ordered remedy; documents development of remedial plan and extensive campaign of public engagement to develop and support that remedy; examines changes in advocacy and public engagement strategies in light of recent decision vacating remedial order.

"Defining a ‘Basic Education’: Equity and Adequacy Litigation in the State of Washington" by Diane W. Cipollone (December 1998); $8.00.

Charts on-going struggle to define a "basic education" in the state of Washington and efforts to determine the costs of providing such an education to all students; details influence of public dialogue on this process, as well as the work of a newly-formed organization; describes recent shift among some state legislators to a focus on standards reform.

"Fiscal Equity Litigation and the Democratic Imperative" by Michael A. Rebell (January 1998); $5.00. [photocopy only]

Examines a trend toward plaintiff victories in fiscal equity decisions since 1989; provides an overview of these decisions and examines them within the framework of the "democratic imperative," a resurgent manifestation of the underlying principles of American political culture that will no longer tolerate inadequate educational opportunities for disadvantaged children.

"Gambling on a Settlement: The Baltimore City Schools Adequacy Litigations" by Diane W. Cipollone (November 1997); $5.00 [photocopy only]

Discusses the recent Maryland adequacy litigations and the state’s education finance system; examines earlier court rulings and the state’s defense arguments; focuses on the intricate political developments that led to a major eve-of-trial settlement in the case.

"Trying to Bridge the Gaps: Ohio's Search for an Education Finance Remedy" by Molly A. Hunter (February 1999); $5.00 [photocopy only]

Traces extensive public engagement work by a number of statewide organizations, including an advocacy effort spearheaded by Ohio's business leaders; details statewide forums and a number of influential television programs demonstrating inadqeuacy of schools; also examines on-going attempts to determine the actual costs of providing a 'thorough and efficient' education.

Full subscription to Volume 1 (6 papers): $35.00.

Other Articles

"Efficacy and Engagement: The Remedies Problem Posed by Sheff v. O’Neill -- and a Proposed Solution" by Michael A. Rebell and Robert L. Hughes. Reprinted from The Connecticut law Review (1997); $6.00.

Analyzes problems of remedies in Connecticut’s recent de facto segregation/fiscal equity suit; provides an overview of federal and state remedies in desegregation and fiscal equity cases; reviews past statewide public dialogue process in Connecticut; proposes a new public engagement-oriented remedy for Sheff and other statewide litigations.

"Fiscal Equity in Education: Deconstructing the Reigning Myths and Facing Reality" by Michael A. Rebell. Reprinted from The NYU Review of Law and Social Change (1995); $5.00.

Provides a critical overview of recent fiscal equity litigations throughout the country from an advocacy perspective; proposes an approach to fiscal equity reform and a candid consideration of underlying political and legal issues.

"Schools, Communities and the Courts: A Dialogic Approach to Education Reform" by Michael A. Rebell and Robert L. Hughes. Reprinted from The Yale Law and Policy Review (1996); $5.00.

Reviews history of recent education reform initiatives and judicial intervention in educational policy disputes; argues that effective reform requires a revitalization of community involvement; proposes a specific dialogic method for doing so; applies the dialogic method to controversies involving sex education, special education and fiscal equity reforms.

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