Assessing Success in School Finance Litigation: The Case of New Jersey

Through its decisions in Robinson v. Cahill (1973-1976) and Abbott v. Burke (1985-2005), the justices of New Jersey’s supreme court have defined the state’s constitutional guarantee of a “thorough and efficient” education, set parameters for how the state’s urban schools should be funded, and provided guidance on how education dollars should be spent in these communities (the so-called Abbott districts). In January 2008, the legislature enacted a new funding formula, the School Finance Reform Act of 2008, which jettisons the court’s remedies. The court upheld the constitutionality of this law in its 20th Abbott ruling issued in May 2009. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of court-mandated school finance reform in New Jersey and describe the School Finance Reform Act (SFRA) of 2008 and its potential impact.

Goertz, M., Weiss, M. (2009). Assessing Success in School Finance Litigation: The Case of New Jersey. Education, Equity, and the Law : No. 1. New York: The Campaign for Educational Equity.