SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O’CONNELL COMMENTS ON TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER GRANTED IN ALGEBRA I LITIGATION 

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

October 28, 2008

CONTACT: Hilary McLean
PHONE: 916-319-0818
E-MAIL: hmclean@cde.ca.gov


            SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell today announced that the Sacramento Superior Court has granted a temporary restraining order preventing the State Board of Education from implementing its July 9, 2008 decision requiring all eighth grade students in California to be tested in Algebra I, effectively requiring all eighth graders to be enrolled in an Algebra I course.

            The case was filed in Sacramento Superior Court by the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators. O’Connell submitted a declaration to the court in support of the request for a temporary restraining order.

            “I am pleased that the court has approved a temporary restraining order preventing the State Board of Education from implementing its decision to require all eighth grade students in California to take Algebra I. The Board made the decision in response to a letter from the Governor sent just hours before the Board met. I said at that time that there had not been adequate public notice or discussion for an issue of this magnitude. The Court found that these concerns were valid and stopped implementation of the Board’s plan until a full hearing can be held on the merits of the case in December.

            “Algebra is a critical skill that all students must master. But, our public education system currently is not set up to provide the institutional support that schools, teachers, and students will need to ensure every student succeeds in Algebra I in the eighth grade. To do so would require significant investments to our system, costing billions of dollars. For example, California would have to double the number of middle school Algebra I teachers over the next three years. Given the growing budget shortfall in our state and the troubled national economic climate, which Governor Schwarzenegger is discussing with legislative leaders and key constituent groups just this week, it is unlikely that the Governor would be able to find the resources necessary to successfully implement the Algebra 1 mandate.“