Abbott district

Abbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott v. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law Center. The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard.[1] The Abbott II ruling in 1990 had the most far-reaching effects, ordering the state to fund the (then) 28 Abbott districts at the average level of the state's wealthiest districts. The Abbott District system was replaced in 2007 by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

There are now 31 "Abbott districts" in the state, which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.[2] The term "Abbott district" is still in common use since the Abbott districts receive very high funding levels for K-12 and are the only districts in New Jersey where the state pays for Pre-K for all students.

Since the original ruling in 1985, New Jersey increased spending such that Abbott district students received 22% more per pupil (at $20,859) vs. non-Abbott districts (at $17,051) in 2011.[3] 60% of New Jersey's education aid goes to the Abbotts.[4]

One evaluation concluded that the effect on academic achievement in Abbott districts was greater in lower grades and declined in subsequent grades, until there was no effect in high school. The achievement gap in math test scores for fourth graders narrowed from 31 points in 1999 to 19 points in 2007, and on reading tests from 22 points in 2001 to 15 points in 2007. The gap in eighth grade math narrowed less, from 30 points in 2000 to 26 points in 2008, and did not change in reading. The gap did not narrow in high school.[5] In addition, a 2012 study by the New Jersey Department of Education determined that score gains in the Abbotts were no higher than score gains in high-poverty districts that did not participate in the Abbott lawsuit and therefore received much less state money.[6]

  1. ^ "The History of Abbott v. Burke". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  2. ^ "What are SDA Districts?". New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012. SDA Districts are 31 special-needs school districts throughout New Jersey. The districts were renamed after the elimination of the Abbott designation through passage of the state's new School Funding Formula in January 2008.
  3. ^ "New Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending Provides, for the First Time, Complete Total Per-Pupil Cost; Outlines Actual Cost of Educating Students for Greater Accountability". State of New Jersey Department of Education. May 20, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ Wichert, Bill (December 1, 2011). "Chris Christie claims 31 former Abbott districts receive 70 percent of the state aid". PolitiFact New Jersey. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Payoff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cerf, Christopher C. (February 23, 2012). "Education Funding Report" (PDF). Nj.gov. New Jersey Department of Education. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.