On Tuesday, June, 27, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, issued a decision upholding the viability of all of the plaintiffs’ essential claims in New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights (NYSER) v. State of New York. The court held that the case could proceed to trial to provide evidence to prove those claims for New York City and Syracuse. (Click here to read the full decision.)

The court clearly affirmed that all students in the state of New York have a constitutional right to the opportunity for a sound basic education. For plaintiffs to extend their essential claims beyond New York City and Syracuse to other districts statewide, they must provide further evidence on a district-by-district basis.

The court’s ruling underscores the importance of understanding how resource inequities and inadequacies affect students at the school level. Evidence presented by the NYSER plaintiffs drew on in-depth school-level research conducted by the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University, to assess the availability of basic educational resources in selected school districts around the state. Information about school-level resources helps policymakers, educators, families, and the courts both assess constitutional compliance and support continuous improvement.

Last fall, the Campaign for Educational Equity (CEE) released a series of reports to help guide state policymakers to develop a constitutional education-resource system. The series includes a research-based policy roadmap entitled Ensuring Resource Accountability that provides recommendations for improved monitoring of the availability of adequate learning opportunities for all students in every New York school.

CEE continues to contribute research, legal analysis, policy development, and public engagement to define and secure the full range of resources, supports, and services necessary to honor students’ right to be prepared for college, careers, and civic participation.