Memo RE: Lawyers/ Plaintiffs' Meeting with Attached Amendment to Substitute House Bill and Cover Sheet

    TO: 

FROM: 

RE: 

DATE: 

NUMBER OF PAGES (INCLUDING THE COVER SHEET) 7 

IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE NUMBER OF PAGES INDICATED ABOVE, 
PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY AT 212\219-1900. 

FAX COVER SHEET 

John Brittain 860/570-5242 
Sandy DelValle 516/496-7934 
Juan Figueroa 212/431-4276 
Chris Hansen 212/549-2651 
Wes Horton 860/728-0401 
Marianne Engelman Lado 212/802-5968 
Willy Rodriguez 860/541-5050 
Martha Stone 860/570-5256 
Phil Teleger 860/728-0287 
Elizabeth Sheff 860/560-5848 

Dennis Parker 

Lawyers/Plaintffs’Meeting 

May 20, 1999 

 



  

EDF MEMORANDUM 

TO: Sheff Legal Team 

FROM: Dennis Parker 

RE: Laywers/Plaintiffs’ Meeting 

DATE: May 20, 1999 

  

This will confirm the lawyers’ meeting tomorrow at 4:30 at the CCLU. After the meeting 
we will meet with the plaintiffs at 6:00pm. 

Attached is an Amendment to Substitute House Bill, introduced by Kenneth Green. 

 



   

  

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General Assembly Amendment 

January Session, 1999 LLCO No. 7083 

Offered by: 
REP. GREEN, 1st Dist. 

To: Subst. House Bill No. 6950 File No. 694 Cal. No. 529 

“an Act Concerning School Choice and Interdistrict 

Programs." 

  

1 After line 561 insert the following and renumber the remaining 

2 section accordingly: 

"Sec. 8. (NEW) The actions outlined in this section shall be taken in 

order to assure orderly and steady progress toward the reduction of 

racial and ethnic isolation. For purposes of this section, "radial 

3 

El 

5 

6 minorities" means persons whose racial ancestry is defined as other 

7 than white by the Bureau of Census of the United States Department of 

8 Commerce, "urban schools’ means the Hartford public schools, and 

9 “suburban schools" means the public schools in the remaining twenty- 

10 one towns in the Hartford region. 

11 (1) All twenty-two school districts in the Hartford region shall meet 

12 a desegregation standard of student assignment determined by the 

13 Commissioner of Education in accordance with this subdivision. The 

14 standard: (A) Shall be plus or minus a particular number of percentage 

15 points from the combined racial and ethnic composition of the school 

  

LCO No. 7083 1 

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16 districts in the region measured in terms of full-time student 

17 enrolment; (B) may be tailored to consider factors such as the type of 

18 school or the location of schools in the region; (C) shall be designed to 

19 achieve steady progress toward the reduction of racial and ethnic 

20 isolation and the achievement of quality integrated education. The 

21 reduction of racial and ethnic isolation shall require the integration of 

22 students of racial minorities with white students in the regular school 

23 program. 

24 (2) All such school districts shall meet a standard, determined by the 

95 commissioner in accordance with this subdivision, for the employment 

26 of persons of racial minorities as administrators, teachers and other 

27 staff having direct contact with students. The standard shall be: (A) 

28 Based on the proportion of persons of racial minorities in such 

29 positions in all school districts in the region; and (B) designed to 

30 achieve a meaningful reduction of racial and ethnic isolation in the 

31. region. 

32 (3) The Commissioner of Education shall set an implementation 

33 timetable that requires goals for the reduction of radal and ethnic 

34 isolation to be achieved by all twenty-two school districts within a 

) 35 reasonable specified number of years, not to exceed five years. 

36 (4) The state shall provide financing at a level sufficient to support 

37 the goals and timetable established by the commissioner pursuant to 

38 subdivision (3) of this section while assuring economic equity. 

39 (5) The Commissioner of Education shall develop (A) spedific 

40 procedures for monitoring the implementation of such goals and 

41 timetable, (B) the reporting of findings, and (C) measures to assure 

4? effectiveness. 

43 (6) The General Assembly shall establish procedures or sanctions, or 

44 both, to address failure by the Department of Education and the 

45 individual school districts to reduce racial and ethnic isolation. 

46 (7) The Commissioner of Education shall ensure that: (A) Urban 

  

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47 schools have programs, facilities and resources (i) at least equal to the 

48 programs, facilities and resources of suburban schools, and (ii) that are 

49 commensurate with the identified needs of their students; and (B) 

50 suburban schools offer programs and resources traditionally found in 

51 urban schools to meet the needs of students of racial minorities. 

52 (8) Annually, the Commissioner of Education shall measure the 

53 programs, facilities and resources in urban schools and suburban 

54 schools by nonmonetary criteria. The specific categories of programs, 

55 facilities and resources measured shall include: (A) Facilities, including 

56 both the physical condition of buildings and grounds and the 

57 capacities of buildings; (B) equipment and technology, including 

58 computer hardware and software; (C) books; (D) instructional 

59 supplies; (E) teacher to student ratios; (F) teacher qualifications, 

60 including experience and certification in specific areas taught; (G) in- 

61 service teacher training opportunities; (H) specialized educational 

62 programs, and (I) pupil support services. The commissioner shall 

63 report to the General Assembly, in accordance with section 11-4a of the 

64 general statutes, on the survey by January 1, 2000, and annually 

65 thereafter. 

” 66 (9) The Commissioner of Education shall develop an analytic 

67 method for measuring the programs, facilities and resources and 

68 determining whether inequalities exist between urban and suburban 

69 schools. The commissioner shall apply such methodology to determine 

70 whether the programs, facilities and resources of urban schools in each 

71 category pursuant to subdivision (8) of this section in the aggregate are 

72 (A) at least equal to the programs, facilities and resources of suburban 

73 schools in each category in the aggregate, and (B) commensurate with 

74 the identified needs of their students. 

75 (10) Any inequality in the programs, facilities and resources in the 

76 categories described in subdivision (8) of this section that persists for 

77 two consecutive years shall be considered not random. By March 1, 

78 2000, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall develop and 

79 ensure the implementation of an equalization plan detailing the 

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80 specific steps to remedy such identified inequalities. The plan shall 

81 specify the steps for equalizing the programs, facilities and resources 

82 of urban schools so that they are (A) at least equal to the programs, 

83 facilities and resources of suburban schools, and (B) commensurate 

84 with the identified needs of their students as reflected in the weighted 

85 assessments determined by the Department of Education. 

86 (11) The Commissioner of Education shall conduct an initial 

87 assessment of programs, facilities and resources based on data 

88 collected pursuant to section 10-4p of the general statutes, and 

89 contained in the February, 1998 report submitted to the General 

90 Assembly pursuant to subsection (c) of said section 10-4p. The 

91 commissioner shall conduct initial assessments for the components 

92 included in the report, and determine whether the programs, facilities 

93 and resources of urban schools in each category in the aggregate are at 

94 least equal to the programs, facilities and resources of suburban 

95 schools in each category in the aggregate. The commissioner shall 

96 report to the General Assembly, in accordance with section 11-4a of the 

97 general statutes, by September 1, 1999, on a plan to equalize any 

98 components that are not equal and do not serve the identified needs of 

99 students in urban schools. 

100 (12) The State Board of Education shall devise and implement a 

101 comprehensive desegregation and educational improvement plan for 

102 the Hartford region that includes specific actions to achieve the goals 

103 and standards described in subdivisions (1) to (11), inclusive, of this 

104 section. Such plan shall: (A) Require the participation of all school 

105 districts in the region; (B) focus on the inseparable goals of integrated 

106 schools and quality education; (C) have an implementation timetable 

107 requiring implementation commencing no later than the 2000-2001 

108 school year; and (D) specify procedures for monitoring its 

109 implementation and assessing its results. The State Board of Education 

110 shall devise the plan by November 1, 1999. 

il (13) The State Board of Education may adopt such regulations, in 

112 accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, as it deems 

  

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113 necessary for purposes of this section.” 

  

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