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Letter
from the Executive Director
Yesterday the 39-year old desegregation case against the School
District of Philadelphia came to a close in a packed courtroom filled
with hope and, dare I say, jubilation, as the court approved a
concrete, substantive consent decree agreed upon among the district,
the Pennsylvania Human Relations and the Law Center's client
ASPIRA. (The decree is described below.) The decree, and the
events that led up to it, capture better than any description what it
means and what it takes for the Law Center to effect meaningful change:
First, it took a new way of thinking. Sixteen years ago, the
parties were locked into disputes over how and where children would be
bused to eliminate segregation. It was the Law Center's insight
that solving the problem was not just who you go to school with; what
really matters is the quality of the schools that all children attend.
Change required the clients, the judge and the lawyers to labor over
decades; yesterday, the same words were used over and over again to
describe them: persistence, patience, insistence, passion. Change took
the public-a real, engaged public-who filled the courtroom yesterday to
overflowing and demonstrated to anyone watching that this is an issue
that matters. But, finally, change means that you do not walk
away-mission accomplished-even after the most successful day in court.
The consent order approved yesterday is, after all, only a
beginning. The Law Center and all of those who mobilized
yesterday must keep a watchful vigil and ensure that the promises
become realities.
These qualities reverberate throughout all of our work. Successes for a
community group in Hunting Park and for a child in the Lower Merion
School District, described below, are the beginning, not the end, of
strategies to effect far-reaching changes. Our 20-year quest to
secure medical and dental care for children enrolled in Medicaid
advanced another step this month as a court recommended certification
of a class of 1.7 million children in Florida and the trial team,
joined by Law Center lawyer James Eiseman, prepares for an August
trial. We are working on new strategies as the Pennsylvania
legislature and the economic downturn test our success last year in
securing a promise for six years of additional state funding for public
education.
We cannot maintain this level of innovation, persistence and passion
without a lot of help. Our volunteers and interns, some of whom
are recognized below, not only lighten the load, they bring us fresh
ideas and enthusiasm. And you, our loyal financial supporters,
are the bedrock of our support. It is you who allow us to remain
in the battle for the long haul; to never walk away from unsolved
problems, and to continue to bring new insights and solutions to
persistent inequalities.
Very truly yours,
Jennifer R. Clarke
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The Law Center hails District commitments in agreement
ending Philadelphia School Desegregation Case
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 (The Law Center's Michael Churchill, right, with Orlando
Rendon, CFO of ASPIRA, our client in the school desegregation case, and
Junette Marcano, a board member with ACORN of Philadelphia who
testified at the hearing.)
On
July 13th Judge Doris Smith-Ribner of Commonwealth Court approved a
consent agreement, unanimously approved last week by the School Reform
Commission of the School District of Philadelphia, that ends the long
running Philadelphia School Desegregation Case with an order in which
the District commits to improve educational opportunities to the
District's lowest performing and racially isolated schools. The
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia hailed this historic
agreement. "If these commitments are carried out with
fidelity they should go a long way towards aligning resources with
needs in Philadelphia schools and reducing the academic
achievement disparities between minority and white students in the
district," said Law Center attorney Michael Churchill, who
represents ASPIRA, community interveners in the case, and
testified on their behalf at the SRC meeting. Read more....
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
"Philadelphia to settle
1970 Desegregation suit"
The Philadelphia Public School Notebook: "Is the Desegregation Case
over, or has the hard part just begun?"
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PA Education Budget at risk, despite 2008 commitment to
meet adequacy standards for all students
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In 2008 Governor Rendell signed into law a budget that increased
funding for Public Education and committed to reaching adequate levels
of funding statewide within six years. One year later our
legislators are faced with a budget crisis that threatens this critical
commitment. Take action today to prevent
this major victory from being negated: Contact your local
legislators to let them know you want the state to continue to
implement the new school funding formula - even if it requires a
state tax increase to do so.
It is clear that we cannot cut our way out of the state's $3.2
billion deficit without doing significant harm to students and schools,
now and in future years when federal stimulus funds are no longer
available to help stabilize and increase basic education funding.
Pennsylvania's children are not government waste. In this most
difficult of economic times, they look to us - Pennsylvania's adult
citizens and government leaders - to put their needs first.
Contact your legislators
today and urge them to follow through on their commitment to
Pennsylvania's children!
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Hunting Park Stakeholders score environmental victory
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(from left to right, Law Center attorney Adam Cutler with
Hunting Park Stakeholders board members Catalina Hunter and Reinaldo
Ortiz)
On June 18th The Hunting Park Stakeholders Group, a coalition of
residents in the Hunting Park neighborhood of Philadelphia concerned
about school-aged children and environmental risks in their community,
honored Law Center attorney Adam Cutler and Public
Health and Environmental Justice Law Clinic Interns Barbara Mallory
Sampat, Mara Jackel, TJ Rafferty, and Michelle Payne for their efforts
to help prevent the expansion of a construction and demolition
materials recycling plant located close to residential areas and
schools in the Hunting Park neighborhood. Read more...
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Florida Medicaid Case One Step Closer to Trial - Court
Recommends Class Certification
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The Law Center's lawsuit on behalf of the 1.6 million
children enrolled in Medicaid in Florida moved one step closer to trial
on June 25 as a Magistrate Judge recommended that the case be certified
as a class action, finding that the plaintiffs established all of the
requirements for a class action and that the plaintiffs had standing to
assert their claims. Read more....
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Lower Merion School District Failed To Provide Free and
Appropriate Public Education to High School Student
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After listening to testimony over eight days, an
administrative hearing officer ruled on June 24th that the Lower Merion
School District denied a free and appropriate public education to our
client, a 17-year old African American high school student with
learning disabilities in mathematics, reading and writing, who aspires
to attend college. Read more....
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The Supreme Court's Decision in Forest Grove School
District v. T.A. and the Law Center's work
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On June 22nd, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Forest
Grove School District v. T.A., ruling that Congressional amendments
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from 1997 did
not change the long-standing opinion of the Court that when schools fail
to comply with the IDEA, and parents must place their children in
private schools to obtain the education they need, parents may obtain
tuition reimbursement, even when the child had not previously received
special-education services through the public school.
This decision is a positive and powerful reminder to schools that
Congress, the administration, and the Court will protect the rights of
children with disabilities. For the Law Center, this means that not
only will we be more likely to successfully advocate for children
seeking appropriate remedies when the districts they attended refuse to
provide them with IEPs, but also that courts in general may be more
willing to consider the norms and ideals behind special education
law. Read more....
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Volunteer Spotlight
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Law Firm Volunteers
Hats off to our board member Eric Rothschild; and to Peg Gendazek, and
Tina Wiley of Pepper Hamilton LLP who generously donated
videoconference services and their time to help the Law Center complete
a special education hearing on behalf of Ben Y., a young boy with
autism in Alaska.
Paralegal
Volunteers
Everyone at the Law Center looks forward to our semi-monthly Paralegal
Work Night when volunteer paralegals, coordinated by Judith Bardsley,
arrive to help us tackle our long office-wide to-do list.
Filing, shredding, sorting and data entering - these volunteers do it
all, and make a big impact on our work. Above, Linda
Johnson, Judy Stouffer, Kimberly Powell and Kathy Stevenson at a recent
Work Night.
2009
Summer Interns
Each summer we welcome a group of high school, college and law school
interns who bring great talent and energy to the Law Center, and
benefit from hands on involvement in our cases and projects. Our
2009 Summer interns include from left to right: Elias Kohn, sophomore
at USC, Ben Wofford, high school senior, Chris Kupka, 2L at Penn Law,
Ravi Desai, senior at Drexel, and Sarah Mason, 1L at University of
Miami Law School.
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Law Center Receives Inglis Foundation Award for Continuing
Excellence
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(from
left to right, Board member David Williams, Executive Director Jennifer
Clarke, Attorneys Sonja Kerr and Judith Gran, and board member Don
Joseph attend the Inglis Foundation Award ceremony.)
On June 25th The Law Center was honored at the Annual Inglis
Foundation Awards for Continuing Excellence Ceremony. The award
recognizes the Law Center's Disability Rights Project's record of
achieving tangible outcomes that improve the quality of life and
increase access to opportunities for people with disabilities. The
Award includes a $20,000 unrestricted grant which will support our
Disability Rights project and allow us to continue working to break
down barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully
participating in all aspects of society. The Law Center is one of
six organizations recognized this year by the Inglis Foundation.
We are extremely grateful to the foundation for this support.
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Save
the Date!
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Please
make plans to join us in Philadelphia as
The
Law Center Celebrates
40
YEARS
of
effective impact litigation, and improved life chances for hundreds of
thousands.
October
1, 2009
More details...
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