Intermediate
Court Holds Eighth-Grade Education Adequate Under New York State Constitution:
Appeal Will Be Taken To State's Highest Court On June 25, 2002, the intermediate-level
Appellate Division of the New York State courts held that the trial court in Campaign
for Fiscal Equity (CFE) v. State, 187
Misc. 2d 1 (2001), had "applied an improper standard" in its definition
of the "sound basic education" required by the state constitution, and
therefore reversed that decision. In a surprising split opinion, the intermediate
court ruled that the State meets its obligation to provide the opportunity to
a sound basic education with an eighth-grade education and preparation for low-level
jobs. Attorneys for the plaintiffs describe this, however, as a legally
flawed decision that will have little bearing on the ultimate decision from the
State's highest court. "We are outraged on behalf of hundreds of thousands
of New York State students who struggle in overcrowded classrooms with uncertified
teachers and empty libraries," said Michael A. Rebell, CFE's Executive Director
and Counsel.
Plaintiffs attorneys lauded the dissenting
opinion (p. 52) by Justice David B. Saxe, who held
that "the trial court's fundamental conclusions
with regard to the education being provided to "at-risk
students" can only be reversed by ignoring either
much of the evidence or the actual circumstances of
the City's school population." Rebell predicted
that Judge Saxe's decision will be the one upheld by
the Court of Appeals, the State's highest court.
The appeals court
ruling, a summary
of which is available on the CFE website, is inconsistent
with prior holdings of both the trial court and the
Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. In 1995,
the Court of Appeals ruled in CFE's favor, declaring
that the state Constitution guarantees every child in
New York the right to the opportunity for a "sound
basic education." And, in the landmark trial court
ruling on January 10, 2001, Justice Leland DeGrasse
ruled that the current state system of funding schools
has consistently failed to meet this constitutional
obligation.
Prepared June 25, 2002 |
