ERIC Number: ED585935
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Mar
Pages: 24
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Responding to the Leandro Ruling. The Public School Forum's Study Group XI
Public School Forum of North Carolina
The focus of the Forum's eleventh Study Group report is assessing what it will take for the state to respond to the court's findings in the decade-old Leandro lawsuit, a suit that challenged, among other things, the constitutionality of the state's current system of financing schools. The essence of the court's ruling is that: The state, as judged by its own system of holding schools accountable, is not meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure that all young people have an opportunity for a sound basic education. The Supreme Court decision to uphold the Leandro case will potentially have a profound impact on schools in North Carolina. The Public School Forum spent over six months examining the steps it will take to bring the state into compliance with the State Constitution. The Forum has determined that what has been lacking is a comprehensive, research-based, master plan for improving schools and insuring all young people the opportunity for a sound basic education. To bring the state's educational program into compliance with the constitution, such a plan is needed, as is the will and the fortitude to stick with the plan over time. This report outlines the necessary elements of such a plan which include: (1) Strengthening the Capacity of the State to Respond to the Court Ruling; (2) Implementing a Comprehensive Teacher Recruiting & Retention Plan; and (3) Overhauling School Funding Policies. To address the question of how could, or should, the state respond to the Leandro decision, a study group was organized into three working committees that addressed the following questions: (1) Does the state currently have the capacity to fulfill its constitutional obligation? What needs to be done to give the state the capacity to meet its obligations?; (2) Is the current state system of funding schools sufficient to ensure that all young people have an opportunity for a sound basic education and what could be done to strengthen the state's funding system?; and (3) What steps must the state take to ensure that all young people are taught by qualified, capable teachers? Over the course of six months, each working committee met frequently. This report details 18 recommendations which are the result of those deliberations.
Descriptors: Constitutional Law, School Law, Court Litigation, Educational Finance, Accountability, Compliance (Legal), Educational Planning, Educational Improvement, State Government, Program Implementation, Teacher Recruitment, Teacher Persistence, Finance Reform, Capacity Building, State Aid, Teaching Conditions, Access to Education, Governance, Staff Development, Education Service Centers, State Agencies, Nonprofit Organizations, State Boards of Education, Agency Cooperation, Partnerships in Education, Coaching (Performance), Teacher Salaries, Expenditure per Student, Needs Assessment
Public School Forum of North Carolina. 3739 National Drive Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27612. Tel: 919-781-6833; Fax: 919-781-6527; Web site: http://www.ncforum.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Public School Forum of North Carolina
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A