Education lawsuit against the state

Assuming I understand correctly, this lawsuit could lead to statewide (if not nationwide) education reform. Click here for the full article, or just look below for quotes I pulled.

The Chicago Urban League has filed a lawsuit against the State of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education calling for the state’s current school funding scheme to be declared unconstitutional and in violation of the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003. The lawsuit asserts that the State of Illinois has, for decades, discriminated against families based on race and has deprived African American, Latino and other minority children of a high quality education.

The lawsuit challenges the State’s method for raising and distributing education funds to local school districts and the Illinois State Board of Education’s implementation of the system.

The Chicago Urban League wants the court to agree that the public education financing mechanism in Illinois violates the Illinois Civil Rights Act and Illinois Constitution and order the State to take the necessary steps to eliminate the constitutional violation and remedy the statutory violation.

“Illinois ranks 49th in the nation for the funding gap between rich and poor students, and white and minority students,” said Mary Ellen Guest, campaign manager of A+ Illinois, the state’s leading advocate for improved school quality and funding. “It should come as no surprise that Illinois also ranks near-last for the achievement gap between these groups of students.”

Tags: Chicago Urban League, education, Illinois, lawsuit
Filed under Illinois, education | Comments (3)

It’s getting hot in here

1) An e-mail from Dave Kaptain to the Courier refutes what Mike Powers originally wrote about his deal with the Bandits, removing any doubt that it was just a mistake. Powers bought his home from the Bandits’ owner, which may or may not be related.

It seems obvious that Powers’ actions weren’t kosher. He’s already resigned. What is usually done next in this type of situation? I honestly don’t know.

2) A former Larkin guidance counselor writes in about the lawsuit against U46, arguing that the plaintiffs are misunderstanding the situation.

The more pieces of the puzzle I obtain, the more I’m agreeing that the lawsuit is misguided.

Tags: city council, Courier News, Dave Kaptain, education, Elgin, IL, Illinois, lawsuit, Mike Powers, school, U46
Filed under Elgin, news | Comments (4)

More on the lawsuit

So I went to some barbecues today and spent time talking with educators about the class action lawsuit against U-46 arguing that minorities receive an inferior education. The conversation was quite eye-opening to me and I am left very unsure of my opinion on it all.

One point made was that a lawsuit is not the way to make changes in the district. Hold meetings, get media coverage, do what you have to do, but don’t jump in with a lawsuit. That costs the district money and hurts the district. I suppose this is a good point if the plaintiffs did not go through the proper channels first. I also agree that a lawsuit should be a last resort. Does anyone know if people organized and attended meetings trying to bring the alleged discrimination into conversation prior to the lawsuit? I do not know, and I do not know how to find out.

Another point made was that the lawsuit wastes district money, which is taxpayer money. The money spent on lawyers could actually go towards the schools in question. Another good point, but at the same time, if business as usual is giving minority students the shaft then maybe something drastic is needed to foster change.

Which brings up the most important point: is change needed? Is what the plaintiffs say is happening, really happening? Let’s put it bluntly: Do White kids in public school district U-46 generally receive better educations than Black and Latino children receive? Do kids from families with higher incomes generally receive better educations than kids from lower income families?

I don’t know the answer to those questions. I am not involved in U-46 personally and have not heard of any relevant research. You know what would be really cool for someone (academic, journalist, policy analyst) to do? Analyze Elgin according to school boundaries. Break down the census data and find out the percentage of minorities, average income, etc. in each area. Look at all public data available for the corresponding schools. I do not know what public data is available, perhaps the number of children attending and the number of faculty and staff? That could give a student/teacher ratio. Perhaps the dollar amount spent per student? That might only be available on a district level. I have no clue. Perhaps the average teacher salary, and/or average number of years of experience per teacher? Perhaps average distance children live from the school? Are there any correlations? To be blunt again, do White and/or more affluent neighborhoods have significantly higher teacher/student ratios, lower distances to school, higher dollar amount spent per child, more experienced teachers, etc. than Black/Latino/low-income neighborhoods have?

I think people’s opinions on this lawsuit will vary based on their current beliefs. If you believe the school district treats all students equally, you’ll think the lawsuit is a waste of time and money. If you think there is a system-wide difference in treatment of students that falls along lines of race and/or income, you will feel differently. I do not know if U-46’s policies end up being discriminatory or not. However, I believe that most school districts’ policies are discriminatory (not necessarily intentionally) so my gut reaction is to be fascinated and not offended by this lawsuit.

Tags: class action, discrimination, education, Elgin, IL, Illinois, law suit, minorities, students, U-46
Filed under Elgin | Comment (1)

U-46 Class Action Lawsuit

Here’s an article about a class action lawsuit against school district U-46 in which plaintiffs argue that minorities receive an inferior education, are bussed more, and more likely to be in overcrowded schools. Here is a letter to the editor from residents who helped redraw the school boundaries and call the suit “idiotic.” They talk about how careful they were trying to not discriminate when redrawing the boundaries by balancing the overcrowding/busing issues. Basically, if students are bussed it is to avoid overcrowding of the nearest school. If they are in an overcrowded school, it’s a result of trying avoid busing kids to another neighborhood.

This is a very interesting suit. I can see how the people who redraw the lines would be frustrated. At the same time, it doesn’t matter how pure their intent was. If the system-wide situation is that minorities have lower quality education, the intentions and efforts of the people who drew the boundaries is largely irrelevant. Even though the boundaries are being focused on, it’s more of a money issue than a boundary issue. If neighborhood schools had the money to expand, there wouldn’t be the busing vs. overcrowding issue.

If the policy research I’ve read is correct, minorities receiving the shaft in public education is a nationwide problem in almost every urban area. This could really end up being a landmark case. I’m trying to envision what the best result would be. If the problems are with poorer neighborhood schools, the answer would be putting more money into those schools–making them larger, hiring more staff, etc.–so they are no longer overcrowded and can handle all students living nearby which eliminates the need for busing.

Anything involving money is easier said than done. There is a limited amount of money, so money going to poorer neighborhood schools is money not going to other schools, which would probably receive quite the objection from more affluent (and influential) parents.

I’m sure the district isn’t excited about having to deal with the costs and hassle of a lawsuit, as well as the negative publicity. At the same time, maybe this will end up making history. This suit could push U-46 to develop more equitable policies that end up becoming a blueprint for public school districts everywhere. It will be interesting to watch this unfold and see if national education reform starts right in our own backyard.

Tags: busing, class action, discrimination, education, Elgin, IL, Illinois, law suit, minorities, neighborhood schools, overcrowding, public schools, schools, U-46
Filed under Elgin, education | Comment (1)

Greater Elgin Area tid bits.

-Did you know OakBrook residents don’t pay property taxes? Seriously, it says so right on the front page of their website.

-A Bartlett teen invited a girl to prom via graffiti, got caught by the cops via myspace. Wow!

-Hundreds of people waited around in Aurora yesterday hoping to get a glimpse of Johnny Depp, but he isn’t supposed to be there until today.

-Did you know there are places that, for a fee, provide ingredients and instruction so you can make two weeks worth of entrees on a Saturday? Then you freeze the meals and take them home so you don’t have to worry about cooking during the week! Check out Come & Dish in Algonquin and Dinner by Design in Algonquin, Crystal Lake, South Elgin, St. Charles, and all sorts of places nearby. (Hint: Radio Shopping Show has discounts on both of these places.)

-District 300 Foundation for Educational Excellence is auctioning off desks that were turned into works of art by students or staff. I like this one!

-The DuPage County Historical Museum is in danger of closing. Time to finally visit there!

-This isn’t in the Greater Elgin Area, but it is funny. Someone broke into a freight car in Galesburg, and must’ve been sorely disappointed to find it filled with ketchup. Nothing was stolen, but police found the ketchup squirted everywhere.

Tags: art, Bartlett, Come & Dish, cooking, Dinner by Design, District 300, DuPage County Historical Museum, education, food, fundraiser, graffiti, Illinois, OakBrook, prom, property tax, Radio Shoping Show, taxes, WRMN
Filed under Bartlett, Crystal Lake, OakBrook, South Elgin, St. Charles, education, food, news | Comment (1)