HANCOCK V. DRISCOLL

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HANCOCK V. DRISCOLL

• THE DUTY TO EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN

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PLAINTIFFS COUNSEL
Michael D. Weisman Rebecca P. McIntyre Peter A.
Montgomery Emiliano Mazlen Weisman McIntyre 114
State Street Boston, MA 02109 [phone]
Alan J. Rom Appleseed Center for Law and
Justice 8 Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 (617)
482-8686
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WHAT JOHN ADAMS WROTE ABOUT EDUCATION 1 of 3
Liberty cannot be preserved without a general
knowledge among the people.
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WHAT JOHN ADAMS WROTE ABOUT EDUCATION 2 of 3
The preservation of the means of knowledge
among the lowest ranks, is of more importance to
the public than all the property of all the rich
men in the country.
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WHAT JOHN ADAMS WROTE ABOUT EDUCATION 3 of 3
Laws for the liberal education of youth,
especially of the lower class of people, are so
extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and
generous mind, no expense for this purpose would
be thought extravagant.
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THE EDUCATION CLAUSE FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS
CONSTITUTION
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
diffused generally among the body of the people,
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
diffused generally among the body of the people,
being necessary for the preservation of their
rights and liberties
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
diffused generally among the body of the people,
being necessary for the preservation of their
rights and liberties and as these depend on
spreading the opportunities and advantages of
education in the various parts of the country,
and among the different orders of the people,
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
diffused generally among the body of the people,
being necessary for the preservation of their
rights and liberties and as these depend on
spreading the opportunities and advantages of
education in the various parts of the country,
and among the different orders of the people, it
shall be the duty of the legislatures and
magistrates, in all future periods of this
Commonwealth, to cherish the interests of
literature and the sciences, and all seminaries
of them especially the university at Cambridge,
public schools and grammar schools in the towns
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue,
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THE MCDUFFY DECISION - I
The Commonwealth has a duty to provide an
education for all its children, rich and poor, in
every city and town of the Commonwealth at the
public school level, and that this duty is
designed not only to serve the interests of the
children, but, more fundamentally, to prepare
them to participate as free citizens of a free
State to meet the needs and interests of a
republican government, namely the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. 415 Mass. at 606.
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THE MCDUFFY DECISION - II
The Massachusetts Constitution imposes an
enforceable duty on the magistrates and
Legislatures of this Commonwealth to provide
education in the public schools for the children
there enrolled, whether they be rich or poor and
without regard to the fiscal capacity of the
community or district in which such children
live. 415 Mass at 621.
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THE MCDUFFY DECISION III
It is the responsibility of the Commonwealth
to take such steps as may be required in each
instance effectively to devise a plan and sources
of funds sufficient to meet the constitutional
mandate. No present statutory enactment is to be
declared unconstitutional, but the single justice
may, in his or her discretion, retain
jurisdiction to determine whether, within a
reasonable time, appropriate legislative action
has been taken. 415 Mass at 621.
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THE MCDUFFY DECISION IV
We shall presume at this time that the
Commonwealth will fulfill its responsibility with
respect to defining the specifics and the
appropriate means to provide the constitutionally
required education. 415 Mass at 619 n. 92.
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THE MCDUFFY DECISION V

• An educated child must possess at least the
  seven following capabilities
• sufficient oral and written communication skills
  to enable students to function in a complex and
  rapidly changing civilization
• sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and
  political systems to enable students to make
  informed choices

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THE MCDUFFY DECISION V (cont.)

• sufficient understanding of governmental
  processes to enable the student to understand the
  issues that affect his or her community, state
  and nation
• sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or
  her mental and physical wellness
• sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each
  student to appreciate his or her cultural and
  historical heritage

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THE MCDUFFY DECISION V (cont.)

• sufficient training or preparation for advanced
  training in either academic or vocational fields
  so as to enable each child to choose and pursue
  life work intelligently and
• sufficient level of academic or vocational skills
  to enable public school students to compete
  favorable with their counterparts in surrounding
  states, in academics or in the job
  market.(citation omitted) 415 Mass at 618.

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CASE REFERRED TO JUDGE BOTSFORD

• Judge Botsford directed to hear the parties and
  their witnesses, and thereafter make findings of
  fact and such other recommendations as
  sheconsiders material. . .

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THE TRIAL

• Lasted from June 2003-January, 2004
• Focused on 4 Districts Brockton, Lowell,
  Springfield and Winchendon
• Comparison Districts Brookline, Concord,
  Wellesley
• State declines to profile low-spending/high
  performing district
• 78 Trial Days
• 114 Witnesses
• More than 1000 exhibits

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JUDGE BOTSFORDS REPORT

• Issued on April 26, 2004
• More than 300 pages
• Detailed findings of fact and recommendations, as
  directed by the SJC
• Case now returns to the SJC

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARD AND THE CURRICULUM
FRAMEWORKS

• TWO COMPONENTS
• The McDuffy Capabilities
• The Curriculum Frameworks are, at present, the
  specific educational plan that the Commonwealth
  has adopted to implement the Constitutional
  duty. Report at 40, 41

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JUDGE BOTSFORDS FINAL CONCLUSIONS -I

• The schools attended by the plaintiffs are not
  currently implementing the Curriculum Frameworks
  and are not currently equipping children with the
  McDuffy capabilities
• Inadequate financial resources are a very
  important reason
• 2012/2014 is too long to wait

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JUDGE BOTSFORDS FINAL CONCLUSIONS - II

• I am reasonably certain that the problems and
  challenges existing in the four focus districts
  repeat themselves in all or most of the school
  districts where the other plaintiffs reside.
  (p.351)

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JUDGE BOTSFORDS RECOMMENDATIONS - I

• Direct the State defendants to
• Ascertain the cost of the required education
  (meaning the actual cost of implementing all
  seven of the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks
  in a manner appropriate for all the districts
  children.
• Ascertain the cost of providing adequate
  resources to the DOE to assist districts
• Implement necessary funding and administrative
  changes (pp. 352-3)

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JUDGE BOTSFORDS RECOMMENDATIONS -II

• I recommend that the court give a definite, but
  limited, period of time for the defendants to
  carry out this order and report back to the court
  with a plan and timetable for implementation,
  perhaps six months.
• Court should retain jurisdiction some
  continuing link between the court and the
  department is necessary.

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AREAS THAT MUST BE INCLUDED IN DETERMINATION OF
COST

• Special education costs
• Implementation of all seven curriculum
  frameworks, including specifically health and
  the arts as well as foreign language
• Adequate school facilities
• Cost of a public school preschool program

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THE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

• Must be
• free at least for those unable to pay
• cover at least all children at risk
• Low-income children
• Children with disabilities
• Children with limited English proficiency
• Requires certified teachers
• Designed to implement the curriculum frameworks
  at the pre-K level

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SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINATION OF COST

• Increases in current Foundation Budget categories
• Teaching salaries
• Low income factor
• Bilingual education factor
• New Foundation Budget categories (suggested
  primarily by defense witnesses) include
• Technology factor
• Teacher coaches
• School leadership

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SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINATION OF COST

• Class size system of under 20 for at least
  pre-K-3rd Grade
• Adequately stocked, computer-equipped and
  staffed school libraries
• Regular, established remedial programs for
  children at risk
• Tutoring
• Extended day
• Extended year

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Foundation Budget Net School Spending v.
Budgeted
Trial Exhibit 40
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Students in Very Large Classes
Trial Exhibit 53
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Number of Final Grades in course sections with 30
or more students English Math
Trial Exhibit 264
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Springfield Graduation and Progress Rates
Trial Exhibit 68
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Cycle II Performance Index - FRL
Trial Exhibit 301 G
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Annual Dropout Rate - FRL
Trial Exhibit 301 H
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Cycle II Performance Index - Minority
Trial Exhibit 302 G
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Annual Dropout Rate Minority
Trial Exhibit 302 H
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MA Prison Inmate Education Level
Trial Exhibit 78
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PPVT Scores and Age by District
Trial Exhibit 108
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Quality of Child Care-School Readiness by Income
Trial Exhibit 110A
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Preschool Cost-Benefit
Trial Exhibit 107 (cont.)
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EVERY CHILD NOT YET A WINNER Paul Reville
The original foundation budget, proposed by the
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education,
was calculated in the early 1990s by asking a
diverse group of superintendents what they would
need to provide an adequate education to very
child in their district. These calculations, now
more than a decade old, were made in the absence
of any state educational goals because none
existed at the time. Now, however, we have a
highly articulated set of educational goals
(standards). Our finance system needs to be
realigned so as to provide educators the means to
achieve these educational goals. If we are
serious about bringing all students to the high
standards, then we need to ask our educators,
particularly our urban educators, that question
again What will it take to get the job done?
Then we need to calculate the costs of the
necessary educational provisionse.g. more
instructional timeand develop a formula that
will deliver the resources required to move each
student to the standard. (Reville. Every child
not yet a winner Commonwealth Spring 2002)
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Brown V. Board of Education
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Hancock Report

• For the complete text of Judge Botsfords
• report to the Supreme Judicial Court go to
• www.aclu-mass.org/education/
• hancock_report_to_sjc.pdf
• For additional information, contact Norma Shapiro
  at the Council for Fair School Finance
• [phone] ext. 325