NJ Education Report

Education Law Center, primary advocates for children in poor urban districts through decades of Abbott decisions, has filed an amicus brief in support of children in poor rural districts, known as the Bacon cases (after the last name of the first child listed in the original court filing six years ago). For background, check out my blog here, and please ignore the lousy kosher jokes, made in the midst of High Holiday hysteria.

In the brief, ELC lists the two points of its legal argument:

Point One: This court must enjoin the state’s failure to fully fund the SFRA [School Funding Reform Act] as to the Bacon districts in order to remedy the proven constitutional deprivation in those districts.

Point Two: The state’s failure to fully fund the SFRA for the Bacon districts denies preschool and other necessary staff, programs, and services to at-risk students in violation of the thorough and efficient education clause of the New Jersey Constitution.

Fully funding SFRA for Bacon district kids would cost the State about another $19 million, according to ELC’s press release.

In other school funding news, the Record is reporting that Senator Steve Sweeney sent a letter to Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, seeking information on a report from consultants that includes recommendations to amend SFRA.