A Leandro Update

In an attempt to ensure every child has access to a sound basic education, parents, students, and school boards from low-wealth counties filed a lawsuit in 1994 against the State of North Carolina and the State Board of Education for failing to provide fair and adequate public education funding. Known as the Leandro decisions, the North Carolina Supreme Court twice ruled (first in 1997, then in 2004) that every child in North Carolina has a constitutional right to “an equal opportunity to receive a sound basic education.”

Ten years after the first Leandro decision, many students are not receiving a sound basic education. Data on end-of-grade tests clearly show that many students, especially those in low-wealth areas and high-poverty schools in urban districts, are not receiving a sound basic education. Test results for all K-12 schools for the 2005-2006 school year show that in 1 out of 6 schools, fewer than 60% of students scored at or above proficient on end-of-grade and end-of-course tests.

The UNC Center for Civil Rights Leandro Advocacy Project suggests the following policy options to address these issues:

• Adequate funding must be provided for disadvantaged students and school systems.
• Implementation of a Personal Education Plan (PEP) should be ensured for every student who is at risk of academic failure.
• Salary incentives should be provided to teachers and administrators working in hard-to-staff schools to help school districts attract and retain highly qualified teachers.
• North Carolina must increase the supply of highly qualified new teachers.
• Teachers must be provided with educational and workplace supports.
• Principals must receive training in school management both at the beginning and throughout their careers.
• Appropriate facilities must be provided so that students, teachers, and principals can focus on their jobs.

North Carolina must act to ensure that all children receive a sound basic education. The three fundamentals—high quality teachers, excellent administrators, and adequate resources—are interrelated. Individually, each is necessary but is not enough. North Carolina must find a way to ensure that all schools have every piece of this interlocking puzzle in place to fulfill the promise of Leandro to all students regardless of where they live.  While important strides have been made, North Carolina must step up its efforts to address education inadequacies and guarantee that every child has an equal opportunity to receive a sound basic education.

By Action for Children North Carolina and the UNC Center for Civil Rights Leandro Advocacy Project, “What Stands Between North Carolina Students and A Sound Basic Education?” March 2007; www.ncchild.org/images/stories/LeandroReport_final_forWeb.pdf