Demystifying today’s Abbott Decision « School Finance 101

Demystifying today’s Abbott Decision « School Finance 101

Demystifying today’s Abbott Decision

by schoolfinance101

First, let’s identify the players:

1. New Jersey Legislature & Governor, or THE STATE
2. Children attending Abbott school districts and their legal representation, or THE PLAINTIFFS
3. THE COURT (NJ Supreme Court)
4. Other school districts and the children they serve

Now, let’s not go too far back in history, and instead account for the last few years which really define where we are at today, and how this decision makes sense:http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/supreme/M129309AbbottvBurke.pdf

Until a few years ago, the State of New Jersey was operating its school funding formula under a series of court orders specifically intended to ensure that children attending school districts known as Abbott districts received sufficient resources to provide them with a constitutionally adequate education (history here:http://edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/AbbottvBurke/AbbottHistory.htm) . The original Abbott v. Burke lawsuit was