Challenge against state school funding system on the basis of the Education Article of the New York Constitution (Article XI § 1). The case addressed a range of issues including, the constitutional right to a sound basic education, adequacy of school funding, budgetary allocations, and the nature of remedies.
The State failed to meet the enforcement deadline set by the court and this triggered a round of compliance litigation. On 14 February 2005, Justice Leland DeGrasse J, upon receiving a report from a panel of special referees, ordered the state to furnish an additional US$ 5.6 billion in operating expenses and US$ 9.2 billion for facilities to NY City Schools to provide their students the constitutionally protected right to a sound basic education. The legislature adopted a plan to provide the full amount for the facilities funding, however, was unable to come to agreement regarding operational aid. In 2006, upon appeal, the Court of Appeals, ruled that the ‘constitutional floor’ for additional operational costs was 1.93 billion dollars, although the decision urged the state to consider providing a higher amount.
In its 2007 session, the legislature enacted funding changes towards compliance with the court orders. However, in 2009, the State stopped the phase-in of the CFE remedy. Thereafter, during the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions, the State reversed the remedy entirely. Moreover, legislative enactments were introduced which permanently stymie the funding needed to ensure the sound basic education as interpreted in the CFE case, unless the legislature acts to amend the provisions in question. In related developments, Maisto v. State, filed in 2008, asked the courts to apply the legal principles in CFE to high-poverty small city school districts. In addition, in 2014, plaintiffs filed New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights (NYSER) v. State, alleging that the state is neglecting its constitutional obligation to provide the opportunity for a meaningful education to all of its students. These cases are currently ongoing.
This case is significant because of its normative contribution towards further understanding what constitutes a right to education under the state constitution of New York specifically, and how we can understand the ‘acceptability’ component of the right to education more generally (as set out in CESCR General Comment No. 13). Moreover, this case is illustrative of the fact that where government fails to take steps to remedy constitutional violations identified by a court, the court may be required to formulate far-reaching orders with large budgetary implications.
This case is also noteworthy since by “enumerating specific skills students need to pursue economically productive and politically engaged lives,” the decision prescribes standards which exceed the ‘core minimum’ content required for the right to education under international human rights law. This is, however, aligned with evolving international standards such as the definition of ‘basic learning needs’ adopted by the World Declaration on Education. [Cathy Albisa & Jessica Shultz, United States, in, Social Rights Jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 243)
In addition, this case brought together a coalition of education advocacy groups, parent organizations, and community school boards to work together towards more equitable funding of New York City schools. The case also shows that a legal victory does not always mean “success,” but can provide invaluable leverage for ongoing advocacy and related litigation efforts.
(Updated August 2015)
There were a number of groups and institutions involved in this case, including, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity(a not-for-profit corporation whose membership consists of community school boards, individual citizens, and a number of parent advocacy organizations), American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center, the Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Legislative Caucus, Partnership for New York City Inc., Alliance for Quality Education, as well as others.