Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by David G. Sciarra
THE EDUCATION SECRETARY HAS A DUTY TO PROTECT STUDENTS FROM THEIR OWN STATES
As a nonprofit organization, ELC relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work. Name Org. Email Anti-spam BY DAVID SCIARRA AND DEREK BLACK September 15, 2021 As COVID-19 cases reach record highs in many states, the nation is watching in shock as several governors and legislatures stand directly in the way of school safety.
NJ SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS MANDATE TO ADDRESS THE IMPACT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON SEGREGATION AND FUNDING
By David Sciarra and Wendy Lecker August 24, 2021 The New Jersey Supreme Court has affirmed and clarified the State Commissioner of Education’s obligation under the state constitution to evaluate and address the impact of charter schools on student segregation and district funding.
No more excuses for lawmakers when it comes to public schools
Image: Adobe Stock Veteran civil rights attorney explains why the General Assembly must comply with a court order to adequately fund public education State Superior Court Judge David Lee recently issued the latest order in the Leandro v. State lawsuit. The judge directed the state to remedy the longstanding violation of the constitutional right of North Carolina public school children to a “sound basic education — by implementing a comprehensive remedial plan developed by the state itself.
After the COVID-19 money is spent, schools will still be underfunded
The pandemic’s impact on public education, especially in schools serving communities segregated by poverty and race, should come as no surprise. Even before COVID-19 upended state budgets, public school funding was deeply inequitable and inadequate. Many states had yet to fill budget holes after the Great Recession, resulting in a revenue loss to schools of nearly $600 billion combined across the U.S. from 2008 to 2018.
Trenton finds cash for everything but school funding
David Sciarra is executive director of the Education Law Center. In the waning days of 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders congratulated themselves on passing a bill authorizing an estimated $14 billion in corporate tax breaks over the next seven to 10 years. Lawmakers approved the massive tax break in a classic Trenton power play — negotiated behind closed doors and rushed through in a week, with almost no notice or meaningful opportunity for the public to be heard.
Column: Betsy DeVos has crossed a bright constitutional line
By David Sciarra and Derek W. Black/Guest Columnists Saturday Jul 25, 2020 at 6:28 PM Jul 25, 2020 at 6:28 PM Schools must look inward, assess local COVID-19 conditions and ignore pressure from DeVos. They have authority over whether to reopen. She doesn't. Columns share an author's personal perspective and are often based on facts in the newspaper's reporting.
DeVos Is Wrong. In-Person Learning Is Dangerous
DeVos Is Wrong. In-Person Learning Is Dangerous Schools must look inward, assess local COVID-19 conditions and ignore pressure from DeVos. They have authority over whether to reopen. She doesn't. Read Full Article »
Betsy DeVos just crossed another line. She's an ongoing danger to teachers and students. Original
David Sciarra and Derek W. Black As much of the country experiences an alarming surge of COVID-19 cases, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is carrying President Donald Trump’s water by demanding that states reopen their schools after the summer break. She makes this demand with no sense of how schools can do this safely. But just beneath her disregard for public health is a shocking ignorance about the fundamental nature of authority over public schools in this country.
CONSTITUTIONALLY OBLIGATED: STATES CANNOT PASS THE BUCK TO DISTRICTS AFTER CLOSING SCHOOLS
As a nonprofit organization, ELC relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work. Name Org. Email Anti-spam By David Sciarra April 29, 2020 Governors in every state have ordered school closures to stop the spread of COVID-19, many for the remainder of the school year. States have also ordered students, like all citizens, to shelter at home. It is unclear when and under what conditions schools across the country will re-open.
Education Law Center: New York’s Pandemic Adjustment: Depriving Resources to Students Impacted by COVID-19
On March 27, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes $13.5 billion in emergency relief to support a rapid response by school districts to a crisis unprecedented in the history of American public education: states closing all public school buildings and transitioning students en masse from classroom instruction to learning at home through remote and digital means.1 But the ink was hardly dry on the CARES Act when New York approved its...
FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR SCHOOLS IS A START, BUT STATES AND CONGRESS MUST DO MUCH MORE
As a nonprofit organization, ELC relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work. Name Org. Email Anti-spam By David Sciarra, Jessica Levin and Wendy Lecker March 31, 2020 In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Congress has provided $13.5 billion in emergency relief to help local school districts and states respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s public school students.
Op-Ed: Now Is the Time to Fund School Construction
David Sciarra The Schools Development Authority, or SDA, has been in the news lately. But as politicians argue over control of the agency, the state’s constitutional obligation to provide and fund safe and adequate school facilities remains in full force and effect. New Jersey’s school construction program has its genesis in the 1997 ruling by the state Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke school-funding lawsuit.
Schools Development Authority needs funding, reform: Here’s how to get it right | Opinion
David Sciarra Published 11:36 a.m. ET March 15, 2019 Al Alvarez, testifies before the legislative oversight committee Chris Pedota, NorthJersey In recent weeks, New Jersey’s school construction agency – the Schools Development Authority or SDA – has become the latest football in Trenton’s political games.
A PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION AGENDA FOR THE NJ LEGISLATURE IN 2019
As a nonprofit organization, ELC relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work. Name Org. Email Anti-spam By David Sciarra In the FY19 State Budget, the New Jersey Legislature passed the first significant increase in school aid for many districts since former Governor Christie took office in 2010.
Op-Ed: Ballot Question Shuts Out Most Students from Facilities Funding
David. Sciarra New Jersey should celebrate the strong gains made over the past 15 years to improve the condition of our public-school building infrastructure. Sparked by a state Supreme Court order, New Jersey stands out in providing state financing to rebuild dilapidated and outmoded schools in poor neighborhoods. We also make state grants to supplement local taxes to maintain and upgrade schools in every district across the state.
Lead screenings offer hope for Flint
A major milestone has been achieved in the struggle to vindicate the rights of Flint students. In response to a class-action lawsuit filed by Flint children and their families, a federal court in Detroit approved a settlement agreement making universal screening, and in-depth evaluations when necessary, available to every Flint child exposed to lead in the water supply.
Op-Ed: Celebrating Our Preschool Success
Cecilia Zalkind, W. Steven Barnett, and David Sciarra Twenty years ago, New Jersey pioneered high-quality preschool for children in poor communities to prepare them for kindergarten. Today, this program has revolutionized the delivery of early education in our state and has improved school readiness and outcomes for at-risk children.
Op-Ed: Our Schools Survived Christie - How Do We Move Forward?
David. G. Sciarra Former Gov. Chris Christie made no secret of his disdain for New Jersey's public schools. He set the tone in the 2010 state budget - his first - when he pushed through a $1 billion school-funding cut, wiping out two years of increases under the School Funding Reform Act (SRFA), the landmark weighted funding-formula enacted in 2008.
Formula Review Offers Chance for Long Overdue School Funding Reform
By David G. Sciarra There is broad consensus, backed by legislative studies, that Nevada’s school funding formula – called the Nevada Plan – is outmoded, broken and in need of major reform. Every element of the Nevada Plan formula, which dates back to 1967, is deeply flawed. The foundation or base funding amount, known as the Basic Support Guarantee or “BSG,” has no relationship to the cost of educating Nevada students to meet today’s academic standards.
Is School Funding Fair? A Roundtable Debate - Education Week
On both the state and national levels, controversies over school funding have loomed large in conversations about the future of K-12 education. In addition to several recent high-stakes showdowns between governors and legislatures over school funding and a rash of state-level lawsuits aimed at funding formulas, the debate over what the Every Student Succeeds Act says about the use of Title I funding aimed at disadvantaged students has raged since the law’s inception.
SCIARRA: State must fix Lakewood schools budget
The Lakewood School District is facing yet another budget crisis, with a projected deficit of $15 million for the 2017-18 school year. To balance the budget, the district plans to lay off as many as 119 teachers and support staff, end athletics programs and increase class size to as high as 50. The crisis is so acute that the district told Department of Education officials it can’t certify the budget provides Lakewood students a thorough and efficient education.
Arizona offers glimpse into threat ESA bill poses to Nevada schools
Gov. Brian Sandoval is pressing lawmakers to revive the private school voucher program blocked last September by the Nevada Supreme Court. The court ruled the program was unconstitutional because it would deplete funds earmarked by the Legislature to operate Nevada’s public schools. The governor’s bill, SB506, carries forward most features of the prior law.
State treasurer doing Nevadans a grave disservice
No amount of public relations spin can bring Senate Bill 302, which authorized Education Savings Accounts (ESA) vouchers, back to life. ESAs are dead. Last September, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously struck down SB 302 as unconstitutional, siding with parents of public school students who challenged the controversial voucher law.
California must stay the course on path to achieving fair school funding
In recognition of how unfair California public school funding had become, the Legislature in 2013 enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), a groundbreaking reform of the state’s broken finance system. The new law eliminated numerous categorical grants and linked funding to pupil needs through weights for low income students, English learners, or those in foster care, along with larger allocations to districts with high concentrations of such students.
Education Savings Accounts won't help students
Recently, the Review Journal reported again on the chronic teacher shortage in the Clark County School District, the nation's fifth-largest. More than halfway through the school year, at least 700 positions remain unfilled, with more than three quarters of the vacancies in high poverty schools. Nearly a third are for special education teachers. Aggressive recruitment has had some success.
Opinion | When a School Board Victimizes Kids
NEW YORK STATE has a proud tradition of local decision making in public education. However, students in the public schools in East Ramapo, about 30 miles north of Manhattan, in Rockland County, are being denied their state constitutional right to a sound basic education by a board that has grossly mismanaged the district’s finances and educational programs.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with David G.
Contact David G., search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack