“Equal Educational Opportunity: What Now?”
3rd Annual Equity Symposium

On November 12 and 13, 2007 academics, advocates, educators, students, lawyers, and policy-makers convened for the Campaign for Educational Equity’s 3rd annual symposium, “Equal Educational Opportunity: What Now? Reassessing the Role of the Courts, the Law and School Policies after Seattle and CFE,” (Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York).

Teachers College President, Susan Fuhrman, welcomed participants with an encouraging message for achieving equal educational opportunity despite the Seattle/Jefferson County, Kentucky Supreme Court decision that revoked voluntary racial integration programs in those public school districts. Executive Director of the Campaign for Educational Equity, Michael A. Rebell, then invited guests to share their views on the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision and on the assessment of state adequacy litigations in order to consider ways to seek new possibilities for equal educational opportunity. A series of distinguished speakers and panels addressed issues including:

• K-12 integration
• Better education through litigation
• Ensuring successful remedies
• Higher education
• Judicial Remedies
• Special education
• Building civic capacity in low-income communities

Interventions and Court Involvement

In “Judicial Remedies and the Separation of Powers” Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, former Judge of the New York Court of Appeals when it decided CFE v. State, maintained that the state courts have an obligation to hear and rule on the educational adequacy school funding cases because “they have no choice” given their constitutional responsibilities. Hon. John Greaney, Justice of the Judicial Supreme Court of Massachusetts, on the court for McDuffy in 1993 and Hancock in 2005, concurred on the duty of courts to be involved by noting that constitutional clauses are mandatory, not only aspirational. He concluded that if there is a right and a remedy the court has an obligation to rule. When Judge Rosenblatt directed his attention to Michael Rebell, co-lead counsel in CFE v. State sitting in the first row of the audience and asked if the court had achieved adequacy in its ruling of the CFE case, Professor Rebell responded, “so far.”

Also providing key perspectives, former Governor of West Virginia Bob Wise, now president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, and Joyce Elliot, former Arkansas legislative leader, acknowledged the role of the courts in the school funding education adequacy cases. Jay Worona, General Counsel to the New York State School Boards Association, provided expert facilitation for this informative and entertaining panel.

Justice Greaney, who was wearing black, said he is a fan of country music and quoted Man in Black by Johnny Cash:

I wear black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.

Higher Education

In her resolute presentation on the topic of “Democracy and Diversity in Higher Education,” visiting professor at Columbia Law School, Lani Guinier, suggested that universities have failed in their notion of democracy. She commended the University of Texas’ 10% plan and Clark University’s adoption of a community development initiative. Columbia Professor Susan Sturm followed with her call to intervene at the level of the institution.

Special Education Court Involvement

Following the panel on higher education, Professor of Practice and Director of the Leadership Program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Tom Heir, shared his views on “The Impact of Special Education Law on Equity and on the Classroom.” Heir asserted his opposition to schools for kids with mental retardation arguing that “kids don’t need them.” He urged strategically focused litigations and the involvement of states in the implementation of special education programs.

Angela Glover Blackwell

In an inspiring closing keynote, Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PolicyLink, recounted success stories from Massachusetts and Missouri and drew lessons from them that we need to apply more broadly. She linked her personal background to the current public educational system and pointed out the implications of geography. According to Glover Blackwell, in America where you live determines your opportunity. When pressed by Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanushek about the option of vouchers as a proxy for equal opportunity, Ms. Blackwell responded that the key issue was public education and vouchers were merely a way to undercut the system and avoid strengthening our public schools.

Web-casts of the symposium are available on the Campaign for Educational Equity’s Symposium webpage.

Prepared by Marcela Briceno, November 18, 2007