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Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice filed a class action
lawsuit in Essex County Court on behalf of all students attending
public charter schools in Newark. The lawsuit challenges the 15 to 6
disparity in annual state funding between students in Newark’s
public charter schools and its traditional public schools, and the
denial of access to over $1.5 billion in approved school
construction funding for Newark.
Public charter schools are public schools operating under charters
granted by the New Jersey Department of Education. Most of the
State’s public charter schools are located in poorer urban
districts. These schools offer greater accountability and more
innovative teaching methods to parents who seek an alternative to
their district’s traditional public schools. While they are
primarily funded by the State, this funding is at a rate that is
drastically lower than the traditional public schools within the
same municipality.
In Abbott v. Burke, the New
Jersey Supreme Court held that a $2,068 per pupil funding disparity
between students in the State’s poorer urban districts and its
wealthier districts was unconstitutional. Today, the disparity
between Newark’s public charter school students and its traditional
public school students is more than double that figure, even in 2006
dollars, at $9,607.
The State categorically denies public charter school students that
reside in Abbott districts access to any Abbott funding and school
construction funding, despite the fact that these students share the
same unique educational needs on which this funding is premised. As
a result, students who attend public charter schools in Newark are
educated with $9,607 less annually per pupil than their friends and
neighbors who attend traditional public schools in the same city.
Moreover, this 15 to 6 disparity does not take into account the
state’s denial of access to over $1.5 billion in school construction
aid approved for Newark’s traditional public schools.
The lawsuit, filed in Essex County Court in Newark, seeks a
declaration that this 15 to 6 funding disparity violates the right
of public charter school students to equal protection of the laws
under the New Jersey Constitution. The Plaintiffs seek an injunction
ordering the state to design a system to fund public charter schools
that properly reflects the educational needs of students in Abbott
districts like Newark.
In addition to Professor Jeffries, attorneys on the case
include Scott Michelman, and third-year law students
Mireille Bahri, Jason Haller, Greg Ricciardi and
Kyle Rosenkrans, also of the Seton Hall Law School Center for
Social Justice.
To view a copy of the filed Complaint, click
below:
Charter Schools Complaint
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Professor Shavar Jeffries
Civil Litigation Clinic
Scott Michelman
Clinical Teaching Fellow
Civil Litigation Clinic |
