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January 3, 2006
Judge rules that S.C. leaves behind young studentsSouth Carolina fails to ensure the state's youngest children are prepared for the academic challenges they will face in public schools, Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Cooper ruled Dec. 29. The ruling in the state's school-funding fairness trial had been long-awaited, reports The State newspaper in Columbia:
Cooper's decision left both sides—poor, rural school districts that sued, and the state—claiming victory... For the state, Cooper found the Legislature provides safe, adequate school buildings, appropriate learning goals and a credential system that ensures "minimally competent teachers." For the school districts, Cooper found the state doesn't do enough to educate pre-school-age children."The court ... concludes that the constitutional requirement of adequate funding is not met by the defendants as a result of their failure to adequately fund early childhood intervention programs," Cooper wrote. "Effective pre-kindergarten programs and four-year-old kindergarten programs are non-existent to the masses. ...
"Moreover, early childhood intervention from pre-kindergarten to grade three has not received the priority needed to be an effective force in minimizing the impact of poverty on educational abilities and achievement throughout the educational process."
It will likely be a challenge for public school districts and legislatures to figure how to respond when a judge tells them that they now have a responsibility for pre-school education. The state does have a template in place to get the job done, with a program set up by a previous governor. Excerpts from the ruling here. Complete text of the ruling here (pdf).
Posted January 3, 2006 11:25 AM | Early Childhood Education
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