New Jersey Ordered to Fully Fund Abbott Pre-K Programs

In a unanimous decision, the NJ Supreme Court has directed the State to "ensure that full funding is available" for preschool programs for three- and four-year olds in New Jersey's Abbott districts. In its 1998 ruling in Abbott v. Burke (Abbott V), the Court ordered the State to provide all three- and four-year-old children residing in New Jersey's low-wealth urban districts, known as Abbott districts, with a well-planned, high quality preschool program as part of its constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education. The Court's recent ruling, written by Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, nullifies the State Education Commissioner's practice of requiring districts to use funding already earmarked for K-12 programs to make up state aid shortfalls in their approved preschool budgets.

"This ruling makes clear that the Commissioner cannot under-fund the preschool progam, and then force districts to fill the gap by reducing programs for K-12 students," said David Sciarra, Education Law Center (ELC) Executive Director and Abbott counsel. "The Court has strongly reaffirmed the State's obligation to ensure adequate funding for all Abbott programs, preschool through grade 12," he added.

The ruling resolves a claim by the Millville and several other Abbott districts that the Commissioner failed to provide sufficient state aid to support their state-approved preschool program. Instead, he directed the districts to "reallocate" funds in their budget already earmarked for standards-based curriculum and instruction, full day kindergarten, after school and other programs for K-12 students.

Of critical importance, the Court "emphasizes" that the Commissioner must make-up any shortfalls in the districts’ preschool budget with additional state aid, unless he can demonstrate the additional funding is not needed because the district has sufficient resources to cover all of its programming, including standards-based education and supplemental programs.

In a separate decision, the Court also invalidated the Commissioner’s practice of reducing districts’ preschool aid because of lower than anticipated enrollments based on a per-pupil formula. The Court reaffirmed that district preschool budgets must be actual need and costs, and not arbitrary, predetermined per-pupil funding amounts.

The districts were represented by attorney Richard Shapiro. ELC filed a "friend of the court" brief and participated in oral argument on behalf of the Abbott school children.