- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226706191
- eISBN:
- 9780226706184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226706184.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter proposes a “successful-remedies model” that calls for courts to outline in general, principled terms the expectation that the legislative branch as well as the executive branch will ...
More
This chapter proposes a “successful-remedies model” that calls for courts to outline in general, principled terms the expectation that the legislative branch as well as the executive branch will develop challenging standards, fair and adequate funding systems, and effective programs and accountability measures. However, it leaves to the political branches the responsibility for formulating these policies, so long as they are well conceived and well implemented and promote student achievement. Since significant constitutional compliance cannot be achieved overnight, courts in most cases would need to maintain nominal jurisdiction over a multi-year period. However, actual interventions should be rare if expectations regarding the importance of ultimate outcomes and the limits of judicial intervention procedures are clearly spelled out in advance. Adoption of the proposed comparative institutional model as a framework for judicial remedies will allow the state courts, working effectively with the legislative and executive branches, to achieve lasting success in state education finance litigations.Less
This chapter proposes a “successful-remedies model” that calls for courts to outline in general, principled terms the expectation that the legislative branch as well as the executive branch will develop challenging standards, fair and adequate funding systems, and effective programs and accountability measures. However, it leaves to the political branches the responsibility for formulating these policies, so long as they are well conceived and well implemented and promote student achievement. Since significant constitutional compliance cannot be achieved overnight, courts in most cases would need to maintain nominal jurisdiction over a multi-year period. However, actual interventions should be rare if expectations regarding the importance of ultimate outcomes and the limits of judicial intervention procedures are clearly spelled out in advance. Adoption of the proposed comparative institutional model as a framework for judicial remedies will allow the state courts, working effectively with the legislative and executive branches, to achieve lasting success in state education finance litigations.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226706191
- eISBN:
- 9780226706184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226706184.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This book has argued that success in sound basic education cases is critical to achieving educational equity and excellence. Effective remedies in these cases require the adoption of challenging ...
More
This book has argued that success in sound basic education cases is critical to achieving educational equity and excellence. Effective remedies in these cases require the adoption of challenging standards, adequate funding, effective programmatic reforms and accountability systems, and improvements in student achievement as measured by accurate assessment systems. This successful-remedies model draws on the actual experiences of numerous state courts that have fruitfully carried out many of the functions advocated by the model. In an era when “judicial activism” retains a negative connotation, this chapter argues that courts can be called upon to oversee the implementation of an enormous educational reform process and to retain jurisdiction over a ten- to twenty-year period. This is because the successful-remedies model calls for less active judicial involvement than meets the eye. Moreover, the comparative institutional approach upon which the model is built is consistent with the widely shared view among social scientists that effective social reform requires a functional division of labor among the three branches of government.Less
This book has argued that success in sound basic education cases is critical to achieving educational equity and excellence. Effective remedies in these cases require the adoption of challenging standards, adequate funding, effective programmatic reforms and accountability systems, and improvements in student achievement as measured by accurate assessment systems. This successful-remedies model draws on the actual experiences of numerous state courts that have fruitfully carried out many of the functions advocated by the model. In an era when “judicial activism” retains a negative connotation, this chapter argues that courts can be called upon to oversee the implementation of an enormous educational reform process and to retain jurisdiction over a ten- to twenty-year period. This is because the successful-remedies model calls for less active judicial involvement than meets the eye. Moreover, the comparative institutional approach upon which the model is built is consistent with the widely shared view among social scientists that effective social reform requires a functional division of labor among the three branches of government.
