Newsletter Archive

School Funding Updates, Access’ semi-monthly e-newsletter, provides links to original Access news articles, outside organizations, and helpful information within the Access website. The Updates are essential for keeping up with national school funding litigations, cost studies, and important policy and advocacy efforts. To subscribe, click here.

July 14, 2010

Increasing Number of Legal Actions Challenge Constitutionality of Budget Cuts
Advocacy Organizations in California File Second School Funding Lawsuit
Advocates Skeptical of Rhode Island’s New School Funding Formula; Woonsocket Plaintiffs to Continue with Litigation
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Appeal in NCLB Case
ACLU Report Advocates for Financing a $2.8 Billion Facilities Plan in Baltimore

May 21, 2010

• Court Enjoins Layoffs at Three Los Angeles Unified Schools, Upholding Students’ Right to Equal Educational Opportunity Despite State’s Budget Crisis
• Two New Education Adequacy Cases in California
• Education Organizations Sue NY Governor for Withholding School Aid
• Study Evaluates Advantages, Drawbacks of Value-Added Measures
• New Book Calls for New Role for the Courts in Promoting Social Change

April 1, 2010

• Connecticut Supreme Court Holds that the State Constitution Guarantees Students the Right to an Adequate Education
• Editorial: USDOE Position on ESEA: Weak on Equity and Adequacy
• Layoffs, Education Cuts Serve as Impetus for New Lawsuits Filed in California and Indiana
• Legal Updates: Illinois, North Carolina
• Changes in Teacher Pension Systems Face Legal Scrutiny

February 19, 2010

• Equity Symposium Presents Studies, On-the-Ground Perspectives on Education Stimulus Impact
• Legal Updates: WA, KS and RI
• Safeguarding the Right to a Sound Basic Education in Times of Fiscal Constraint
• Book Review: The Schoolhouse and the Courthouse

December 1, 2009

• N. Carolina judge convenes hearing on maintaining adequacy during fiscal downturn
• Final Race to the Top requirements address funding equity issues
• Two Florida lawsuits seek to enforce new constitutional provisions
• Legal Updates: CO, WA and 6th Circuit
• Campaign for Educational Equity announces fifth annual equity symposium: "Stimulating Equity?: The Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on Educational Opportunity"

October 20, 2009

• NEW BOOK ACCLAIMS ADEQUACY LITIGATIONS
• Charter advocates challenge school finance systems in Arizona and North Carolina
• Interview with Tim Hogan, AZ Plaintiff Attorney
• Inspector General report raises concerns over states' stimulus use

September 8, 2009

• Legal Updates: Missouri, North Carolina and Washington
• Advocates press for greater emphasis on funding equity in Race to the Top Regs
• Amidst recession, states confront mounting teacher pension costs
• U.S. lagging in supporting children's well-being, says OECD report
  

August 1, 2009

• Preliminary analysis of states' intended use of federal stimulus funds raises serious questions
• Legal Updates: South Dakota and California
• Interview with Andru Volinsky, N.H. Plaintiff Attorney
• Abbott preschool participants outperform peers, study shows

July 1, 2009

• U.S. SUPREME COURT REMANDS ARIZONA ELL FUNDING CASE FOR FURTHER HEARINGS
• Campaign for Educational Equity Announces “Stimulating Equity?” Project
• Stanford Study Offers Mixed Appraisal of Charters

May 29, 2009

• New Jersey
• Hanushek and Lindseth’s New Book: Purporting to Have All the Answers
• 9th Annual Quality Education Conference: Strengthening Opportunities to Learn in Challenging Economic Times
  • Blocking Budget Cuts: Constitutional Perspectives
  • “Judicial Activism” is Constitutionally Required: A Keynote Message by Judge Terry L. Bullock
  • The Federal Stimulus Bill and ESEA Reauthorization: Pitfalls and Possibilities
  • Reframing the Debate on Charters and Vouchers
• Legal Updates: Illinois and South Dakota

April 10, 2009

• Major ELL Funding Case Goes to U.S. Supreme Court
• Ohio is Back on Track for Constitutional Compliance
• New Jersey Judge Recommends New Path for Old Litigation
• 9th Annual Quality Education Conference

February 17, 2009

• Stimulus Bill Promotes Stable, Adequate Funding
• Profile: Arne Duncan
• 9th Annual Quality Education Conference: Strengthening Opportunities to Learn in Challenging Economic Times
• Legal Updates: Alaska and Oregon

December 18, 2008

• Editorial: Strategies for Countering Budget Cuts
• Thinking Big About How to Close the Gap
• Legal Updates: Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey

November 13, 2008

• The Role of the Courts: An Editorial Comment
• Obama and Comprehensive Educational Equity
• Developments on High Stakes Testing

September 29, 2008

• Tracking Educational Adequacy in Arkansas: A New Legislative Approach
• Adequacy Trial in Alaska: The Remedy Phase
• Two Reports Illuminate Limitations of NCLB
• Equity Symposium on Comprehensive Educational Equity:
  Overcoming the Socioeconomic Barriers to School Success

August 29, 2008

• Major New Case Filed In Illinois
• Multi-Pronged Approaches to Education Reform: The South Carolina and Illinois Examples
• Trial About to Begin in South Dakota
• State's Motion Denied in Georgia

July 15, 2008

• 2008 Quality Education Conference Sets New Horizons for the Adequacy Movement
• Sustaining Success: The Court’s Role in Education Adequacy
• The Special Role of the Courts in the Education Adequacy Movement
• Righting Rodriguez: Implications for Advancing a Federal Constitutional Right to Education
• Pollster Cornell Belcher's Session on How to Promote Equity and Adequacy

May 8, 2008

• Register Now For the 2008 ACCESS Quality Education Conference!
• Plaintiffs Prevail in Two Important New Decisions
• Analysis of Adequacy Studies Shows Trend Toward Increased Weightings for Poverty and Minority Students
• New Cases Filed in Iowa and Alabama Raise Innovative Adequacy and Equity Theories
• Targeted Class-Size Reduction Can be Conducive to Educational Equity

April 2, 2008

• New Jersey A.G. Moves to Terminate Long-Pending Abbott Litigation
• Assessing Achievement Gaps Comprehensively
• More Evidence of Adequacy Cases Leading to Improvements in Student Achievement
• ACLU Tests New Adequacy Theory in Florida Case
• Educational Equity Requires School Reform - and More

February 15, 2008

• 8th Annual Quality Education Conference: June 11-12, 2008, Washington D.C
• The Education Adequacy Movement – The Only Game in Town
• Emergent Bilinguals: How Policy Has Misunderstood a National Resource
• New Mexico Cost Study Calls for a 14.5 Percent Increase in School Funding
• Report Warns to “Watch the Gap” in Education Funding

January 14, 2008

• New Jersey Announces a New School Funding Formula: But What About Abbott?
• Connecticut Plaintiffs File Appeal
• Success Story – Title I’s Targeted Funding Formula
• Report Sees Substantial Improvement in Teacher Quality
• EDITORIAL: A Rekindled NCLB Suit Raises Concerns

December 4, 2007

• Pennsylvania Study Combines Methodologies and Tries to Cost Out “100 Percent Proficiency”
• Funding Needed to Boost English Language Learners Over State Exit Exam Hurdle
• Proceedings from the Campaign for Educational Equity’s 3rd Annual Symposium:
  • “Equal Educational Opportunity: What Now?”
  • Diversity, Integration and the Supreme Court’s Seattle Ruling
  • Success: Better Education through Litigation!

October 26, 2007

• EDITORIAL: Adequacy Cases are Alive and Well
• The Public of South Carolina Envisions Excellent Public Schools
• California Advocates Have Facts for “Year of Education”
• Interventions Curb Dropout Rates and Give Solid Returns on Investment
• A Gap Between Public and Private Schools? Not in Student Performance!

September 14, 2007

• Plaintiffs Disappointed by Missouri Trial Court Ruling
• Immigration Trends: Two Reports Tell Us About Our Future
• Report on Alternative High School Graduation Routes
• Litigation Update: South Carolina, New Hampshire, Alaska and Others
• Lawsuit: “Highly Qualified Teacher” Rule Violates NCLB and Harms Students

July 30, 2007

• Will Plaintiffs Appeal South Carolina “Minimally Adequate” Decision?
• Assisting Schools “In Improvement” Without Enough Funding
• Public Wants Dramatic Changes in NCLB
• Proceedings from the 7th Annual Quality Education Conference:
  • Working Together for Better Education
  • On the Ground and Pushing for Change: Grassroots Organizing

July 3, 2007

• Editorial: State Education Advocacy More Important than Ever as US Supreme Court Slams Door on Integration
• Constitution Satisfied in AR, Mixed Ruling in AK, Suit Dropped in KY, NH Meets Court Deadline
• Proceedings from the 7th Annual Quality Education Conference:
  • Looking to "Build on Success"
  • Speakers Discuss the Future of the Quality Education Movement
  • Congressman Rangel Calls for a National “Crusade” for Education
  • Next Generation Cost Studies

May 17, 2007

• What Is Really Driving Up School Costs?
• What Is The Future of School Integration?
• Litigation and Cost Study News from NJ
• Conference Will Feature Advocacy Organizations
• NE, OK and AZ Courts End School Funding Cases

May 1, 2007

• Success and Funding Draw NJ Voucher Lawsuit
• Editorial: “Getting Down to Facts” Requires Gearing Up for Change
• Public School Supporters Fight UT Voucher Plan
• Join Us In June!
• Courting Failure Fails to Impress
• Consolidation Harms Students, May Not Save Money

April 12, 2007

• CFE Money Flowing to NY Districts This Year
• CA Study Reveals Staggering Resource Gaps
• Court Finds AZ Under-Funds ELLs
• WI Study Illuminates Costing-Out Complexities
• New Book Looks at School Segregation in CT

March 15, 2007

• "Falling" Test Scores Are Meaningless Measures
• UNICEF Finds US Among Worst Places to be a Kid
• MN Coalition Pushes for "21st Century" Funding
• Think Tank Reports "Severely Flawed"
• Conference: "Fixing No Child Left Behind"

February 20, 2007

• Litigation Update: MO, KY, IN, NE, OK
• Grassroots Successes in ME and MS
• NY Governor Spitzer Proposes Major Reforms
• School Beyond the Four Walls
• Why We Still Need Public Schools

January 17, 2007

• Missouri Trial
• New Washington Lawsuit
• Education "Through a Wider Lens"
• “Close the Gap” in Florida
• Skills Commission Report Contains Overlooked Recommendations

December 20, 2006

• Litigation Update: AZ, AR, and ID
• Public Education Funding and Achievement Grow
• MT, OH & OR Advocates Push for Better Funding
• Rebell & Hanushek Face Off on the Future of Public Education
• Beyond NCLB

December 1, 2006

• Can Schools Alone Lift 100 Percent of Children to Proficiency by 2014?
• School Funding Lawsuit Filed in WA
• Myth-Dispelling Schools Have Keys to Success
• NJ Legislature Proposes Sweeping School Funding Changes
• Conferences Address School Funding

November 10, 2006

• Briefs Examine Benefits of School Integration
• "Dismantling a Community" in New Orleans
• Neediest Students Not Receiving Fair Allocation of Facilities Funds
• School Funding Election Results Mixed Across States
• NCLB Reauthorization Raises Practical and Moral Concerns

October 15, 2006

• Adequacy Trial Begins in AK, Oral Arguments in NY, Preliminary Hearing in GA
• Out-of-State Money Funds “Local” Pro-Voucher PACs
• Rebell Argues for More “Professional Rigor” in Cost Studies
• From Statehouse to Courthouse, Preschool Gaining Ground
• Reader Response: Decentralization Requires Serious Consideration
• Advocacy Groups and Local Officials Declare “Act for Education Month”

September 15, 2006

• Editorial: "100% Solution" Fails the Test
• NH Supreme Court Requires State to Define an Adequate Education
• Education Finance Study in CA; NM and Other States Also Study Costs
• Give Kids Good Schools Campaign Urges Public to "Learn, Vote, Act!"
• Symposium Will Examine Closing Achievement Gaps and NCLB

September 1, 2006

• Litigation Update: AZ, AK, CA, IN, NY, OR, OK
• U.N. Criticizes School Segregation in U.S.
• Advocates Fight to Fund Rural Schools
• NJ Legislators Look for National Perspective
• Public Supports Public Schools, Disagrees with NCLB

August 1, 2006

• Kansas Supreme Court Issues Montoy V Decision
• Reports Reveal Resource and Teaching Gaps
• D.C. Education Amendment Tabled
• North Carolina Legislature Funds Education Programs
• NAEP Scores Similar at Public and Private Schools

Note: Newsletters prior to 2006 were in PDF format. These documents require that your computer have Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed. You may download the software free of charge at adobe.com.

Spring 2005, Vol. 5, No. 1/2, "Opportunity Knocks: Adequacy's Lessons for NCLB Reform"

Fall 2004, Vol. 4, No. 3, "Adequacy Lawsuits: A Mounting Debate, Pro and Con"

Summer 2004, Vol. 4, No. 2, "Courts Assess Compliance: Special Masters and Other Tools"

Winter 2004, Vol. 4, No. 1, "Public School Facilities: Providing Environments That Sustain Learning"

Fall 2003, Vol. 3, No. 3/4, "Democracy and Public Schools: Preparing Students for Civic Participation"

Summer 2003, Vol. 3, No. 2, "CFE v. State Victory: Good for New York, Good for the Nation"

Spring 2003, Vol. 3, No. 1, "A Dialogue for Change: Public Engagement & School Reform"

Winter 2002, Vol. 2, No. 3/4, Reciprocal Accountability: A Model for Reform

September/October 2002, Vol. 2, No. 2, "Making Money Matter" Programs That Work"

Spring 2002, Vol. 2, No. 1, "Courts Foster Dialogue: An Emerging Model for Education Reform"

Fall/Winter 2001, Vol. 1 No. 3/4, "Equal Educational Opportunity After September 11th

Summer 2001, Vol. 1 No. 2, "Costing Out an Adequate Education"

Spring 2001, Vol. 1 No. 1, "Arguing Adequacy"