Contact:  John Affeldt or Jenny Pearlman
               415/431-7430
               415/595-9563
               www.publicadvocates.org

AGREEMENT IN WILLIAMS V. CALIFORNIA SETS STAGE FOR

BETTER EDUCATION FOR CALIFORNIA’S POOREST CHILDREN

 

San Francisco, August 13, 2004:  The State of California and Public Advocates, Inc. today entered into a landmark settlement in Williams v. California.  This class action, filed in May 2000 on behalf of thousands of public school children, challenged the State’s failure to provide all California students with basic educational necessities.  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to announce the historic agreement today at the Edison Middle School in Los Angeles, surrounded by the children, families and organizations that brought the case.

 “Through the Governor’s leadership, we’ve moved from historic neglect to a historic acceptance of responsibility.  Delivering on the promise of educational opportunity for all California children will now require action from the Legislature and state agencies to complement the State’s commitment to new standards and resources,” said John T. Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates, Inc., co-lead counsel in the case. “Advocates for good schools will have to be alert watchdogs to assure implementation.”

 “Quality teachers, enough books, decent schools – it sounds so simple, but too many children have never had them. It’s a huge step that the state has acknowledged its responsibility to assure educational opportunity. Now they have a chance,” added Jenny Pearlman, staff attorney at Public Advocates.

Since its founding in 1971, Public Advocates, a trailblazing public interest law firm devoted to challenging the causes of poverty and discrimination, has championed education rights in significant school finance, testing, and teacher certification cases.  The Williams plaintiffs are also represented by the ACLUs of Southern and Northern California, Morrison & Foerster, and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.

Jack Londen, partner at the law firm Morrison & Foerster, which represented the plaintiffs pro bono, said, “These accomplishments demonstrate that there is still an important role for impact litigation in creating social change. We’re proud to have provided public officials with the chance to improve the lives of kids, and grateful to the governor for his leadership in making the settlement happen.”

Highlights of the settlement include:

New Standards: 

  • State’s commitment to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act standard of a “highly qualified” teacher in every core class by 2006

  • Requirement that every student, including English Language Learners (“ELLs”), be provided with textbooks for class and homework

  • Requirement that the State Architect develop health and safety standards to ensure clean, safe, and well-maintained school facilities

 

Additional Resources:

  • $800 million to emergency facilities repairs over the next four years through a new grant program

  • $138.7 million for textbooks for the lowest performing schools

  • $50 million to implement the settlement in 2004-05, including $20 million for a first-time, statewide facilities inventory of the lowest performing schools

  • Continuing the High Priority Schools Grant Program with funding of $200-plus million annually by replacing schools whose grants expire with other low performing schools

  • Improving teacher supply by streamlining requirements for out-of-state credentialed teachers to earn California credentials

 

Greater Accountability:

  • Increased capacity of County Superintendents to ensure the lowest performing schools meet new facilities and textbooks standards and ELLs have appropriately trained teachers

  • Development of a facilities inspection program for each district

  • Uniform complaint process regarding teacher vacancies and misassignments, inadequate instructional materials and poor facilities

  • Posting of instructional materials and facilities standards in all classrooms

 

State Intervention:

  • Empowering County Superintendents to request the State to purchase books for students when districts have not satisfied the new textbook standards

  • Providing for appeals to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction if complaints regarding facilities under the new uniform complaint process are not satisfied at the district level

  • Empowering County Superintendents to assign teams to review and make recommendations to be followed regarding district hiring practices when districts fall short of qualified teachers

 

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