OLR Report 2012-R-0135 provides a timeline detailing the State Board of Education's takeover of the Bridgeport Board of Education.
In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), requiring states to implement accountability measures in public schools. In response, Connecticut adopted several educational reforms, including expanding the state's power to intervene in low performing local school districts. In 2009, President Obama initiated the Race to the Top program, which rewarded states that scored highly on federal evaluations. After Connecticut failed to qualify for Race to the Top funding, the legislature implemented further educational reforms, including granting the State Board of Education (SBE) the power to authorize the education commissioner to reconstitute a local board of education.
The Bridgeport school district has been designated as “in need of improvement” under Connecticut's law for at least seven consecutive years and students in the district have consistently shown low test scores and high dropout rates. The school district also faces budgetary problems, with the board of education failing to pass a budget for the 2011-2012 school year.
On July 5, 2011, the Bridgeport Board of Education passed a resolution (on a 6-3 vote) (1) stating that the board was unable to function and (2) asking the SBE to reconstitute it, terminating the sitting members and replacing them with candidates chosen by the education commissioner. The next day, the SBE voted to accept the board's request and Bridgeport's board members were later replaced.
Shortly thereafter, the Bridgeport board members who had voted against the resolution filed lawsuits claiming that the state's takeover of the board was illegal because the state had failed to require statutorily mandated training of the Bridgeport board members before taking action. Candidates who were planning to run for the board and Bridgeport parents filed similar suits. These lawsuits were consolidated into a single case that was referred directly to the state Supreme Court.
On February 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the takeover was illegal and ordered the board members whose terms had not yet expired to be reinstated after a special election is held to fill the seats of those board members whose terms expired during the period between the takeover and the court's decision. Parties on both sides have since filed motions asking the Supreme Court to clarify its decision and provide the specifics of the required special election.
For more detailed information, read the full report.
