Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Court faces complex task defining ‘adequate’ education

  • by Nicholas A. Fischer
  • May 17, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

In a landmark decision, CCJEF (Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Educational Funding) v. Rell, the Connecticut Supreme Court has guaranteed all of our students the educational standards and resources for them to succeed in higher education or the workforce, as well as fully participate in all of our democratic institutions. The court has sent the case back to the trial court, charging it with defining exactly what “adequate funding” of education means.

“Adequacy” of educational funding has long been a difficult and controversial issue. The court said that defining those contours is the court’s job and not the legislature’s. It also said that a free public education is a constitutional right in Connecticut. In contrast, a free education is not a right in the US Constitution. In plain words, the court ruled that it had “skin in the game” of deciding whether educational funding was fair and equitable in our state.

Court decisions are often a challenge to read. However, this decision identified with great clarity the ten “essential components of a suitable educational opportunity.” Among these are: “high quality preschool; highly qualified administrators and teachers; a rigorous curriculum and a wide breadth of courses; and a school environment that is healthy, safe, well maintained and conducive to learning.” These were precisely the components presented by CCJEF.

When the trial court ultimately rules on the issues, and the legislature subsequently implements that ruling, it is imperative that both address “standards of service.” A standard of service defines what service a student should receive, how much of it and what it looks like. Since the issue is of Constitutional dimension, specific direction for the legislature is vital.

The trial court must first determine what results are essential. Once those results are identified, the court must identify what it will take to reach them.

“Standards of service” for an effective pre-school need to address: what kind of and how many staff are needed (such as teachers, aides, social workers and psychologists); what kinds of materials and supplies are needed for a year and what do they cost; what contract services may be needed such as speech and physical therapists; what facilities are necessary and what do they cost to operate; how much will transportation cost?

Similarly, how do we provide appropriate services for at-risk students until we identify what “at-risk” means? Is there a need for a continuum of services to serve this diverse group? Will there be a need for a longer school year, for a longer school day? Will there be unique staffing, professional development and working conditions necessary to serve at-risk students. We know that mentoring reduces drop out rates, what does it take to organize and sustain a successful mentoring program.

Finally, addressing a rigorous curriculum is complex and wide reaching. Adequacy must speak to, “How much of what?” At elementary schools, how much of what kinds of science should a student receive at each grade level? How much of which of the arts should a student take each year they are in school? Given problems with obesity among youth, how much physical education should a student receive every year? In high schools, what is the cost of assuring that every student has the chance to have three years of science, or four years of mathematics? Is a student entitled to not having to compete with more than 250 other students for a guidance counselor’s time?

Adequacy can and should be defined with several measures. What are the services to which any student is entitled? What are the actual costs of the services including staff materials, equipment, facilities, transportation, operational overhead like administrative time, and support services like child care? What are the intended results and what does it cost to evaluate results? There must be the will and commitment to ask each of these questions multiple times in multiple places to actually define “adequacy.”

The Connecticut Supreme Court has opened the door to an exciting, important and vital new venture in making public education more successful, and enabling children to be more successful in their lives as adults. We now have to commit to the challenging journey to achieving both kinds of success.

Nicholas A. Fischer
 is superintendent of the New London public schools, and former associate commissioner for finance and accountability, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicholas A. Fischer

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
His reward for civic heroism during the pandemic: a $16,000 tax bill
by Paul Stern

A Mansfield teacher raised some $41,000 to feed families during the pandemic. To the IRS it was "personal income."

Lamont closed the restaurants. Now he is their promoter.
by Mark Pazniokas

A year after Gov. Ned Lamont banned indoor dining due to COVID-19, the industry has welcomed him as its savior.

A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

The Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the lie that built it
by Colleen Shaddox 

Sitting in the paddy wagon, I was afraid – maybe apprehensive was a better word, since I rightly suspected that white privilege would guarantee me good treatment.  Still, I said a prayer of thanksgiving. After years of advocating for people in our carceral system, I was given a chance to develop more empathy.

Data on race, ethnicity and language is critical to making real healthcare progress
by Vicki Veltri, Tekisha Everette and Matt McDermott.

There are significant disparities in health status based upon race, ethnicity, and other factors that deprive many Connecticut residents of an equal opportunity to enjoy good health and well-being. That some Connecticut residents live without proper treatment of illness and injury due to disparities in health care access, affordability, and outcomes based upon race, ethnicity, and language (REL) is self-evident to many but not to all.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Opinion The Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the lie that built it
by Colleen Shaddox 

Sitting in the paddy wagon, I was afraid – maybe apprehensive was a better word, since I rightly suspected that white privilege would guarantee me good treatment.  Still, I said a prayer of thanksgiving. After years of advocating for people in our carceral system, I was given a chance to develop more empathy.

Opinion Data on race, ethnicity and language is critical to making real healthcare progress
by Vicki Veltri, Tekisha Everette and Matt McDermott.

There are significant disparities in health status based upon race, ethnicity, and other factors that deprive many Connecticut residents of an equal opportunity to enjoy good health and well-being. That some Connecticut residents live without proper treatment of illness and injury due to disparities in health care access, affordability, and outcomes based upon race, ethnicity, and language (REL) is self-evident to many but not to all.

Opinion SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work
by Olivia Louthen

Senate Bill 1018 does not solve Connecticut’s largest criminal justice problem: outcomes for crime victims and defendants vary based on zip codes because judicial districts operate independently of one another.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO