A Connecticut judge issued a sweeping school funding decision that ordered the state to re-examine virtually the entire education system to tackle deep-rooted inequities.

Declaring that “Connecticut is defaulting on its constitutional duty” to fairly educate its poorest children, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ordered a new funding formula for the state’s schools, demanded new standards for elementary and high school levels, and directed the state to overhaul the evaluation system of teachers, principals, and superintendents — all within 180 days.

To justify such a far-reaching decision, the judge cited vast disparities in both resources and outcomes between wealthy and poor school districts. According to state tests, students from more than 80 percent of the state’s wealthiest towns exceeded the minimum standards for English in the 2014–15 school year while nearly 70 percent of the students from poorer cities failed to meet those standards. Though Connecticut boasted the nation’s highest per-capita income in 2015, the state also has one of the highest rates of school segregation in the country.

This ruling is the culmination of an 11-year legal battle between the state and the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, an alliance of municipalities, boards of education, teachers’ unions and education advocacy groups.

The state is appealing the decision on the grounds that the judge demanded changes to educational policies that could be enacted only by the Connecticut General Assembly.

The state’s teachers’ union criticized Moukawsher’s ruling for failing to provide specific remedies for the funding disparities. “Unfortunately, the court declined to provide any remedy for the disparity in resources and revenue for students in the state’s poorest communities — the essence and heart of the... litigation,’’ said Sheila Cohen, the president of the Connecticut Education Association.

Hartford Courant, Sept. 7, 20
The New Yorker, Sept. 14