ACLU Tests New Adequacy Theory in Florida Case
In filing a challenge to the education services being
provided to poor and minority children in Florida under
that state’s new education adequacy clause, the
plaintiffs in Schroeder
et al v. Palm Beach Co Sch. Bd et al, represented
by the ACLU and other attorneys, are testing a new wrinkle
on the adequacy theory: dismal graduation rates in and
of themselves constitute a constitutional violation.
“If Palm Beach Country is not graduating a third
or more of its students, it is by definition providing
an inadequate education,” said Chris Hansen, a
senior staff attorney with the ACLU.
The complaint alleges that other school districts within
Florida that have similar enrollment numbers and demographics
to the Palm Beach County School District have significantly
higher high school graduation rates. This means that
the county’s low graduation rates, as well as
the disparity between the graduation rates of African-American
and Hispanic students and those of white students cannot
be attributed to socio-economic status, or immigrant
status.
The complaint further alleges that regardless of the
cause of the county’s low graduation rates, an
essential component of the “uniform, safe, secure
and high quality education” guaranteed by the
Florida constitution is a “meaningful opportunity”
to graduate from high school.
In 1996, the Florida Supreme Court, by a close 4-3
vote, had dismissed plaintiffs’ adequacy claims
in Coalition for Adequacy and Fairness in School
Funding v. Chiles. The court held there that plaintiffs
had "failed to demonstrate . . . an appropriate
standard for determining ‘adequacy' that would
not present a substantial risk of judicial intrusion
into the powers and responsibilities of the legislature."
After losing the Coalition for Adequacy case,
education advocates in Florida turned to the state's
initiative and referendum process. Voters approved an
amendment to the state constitution in the November
1998 election and dramatically strengthened the education
clause. The new language makes Florida's education clause
one of the most strongly worded in the nation:
The education of children is a fundamental value
of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore,
a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision
for the education of all children residing within
its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law
for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality
system of free public schools that allows students
to obtain a high quality education...
Prepared by Michael A. Rebell, March 31, 2008
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