SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today made the following statement following a hearing and tentative ruling* this morning in Sacramento Superior Court on a lawsuit challenging the California State Board of Education's mandate that all eighth graders take Algebra I within the next three years.

"While no final ruling was made after today's hearing, I remain cautiously optimistic that the board's ill-considered and hastily made decision requiring all eighth graders to take Algebra I will be found invalid. We anxiously await the court's final ruling.

"This major shift in state policy, made without adequate notice or opportunity for public hearing, is a recipe for disaster particularly now that our schools are facing the prospect of severe midyear budget cuts. Throughout my career as an educator, legislator, and now, as the State Superintendent, I have consistently supported increasing standards and challenged our students and educators to reach for higher achievement. I strongly believe that algebra is necessary to prepare all students for the higher-level thinking skills they need to succeed.

"But as I and the plaintiffs — the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, and the California Teachers Association – have argued, preparing all students to succeed in algebra by the eighth grade will require more than just a mandate. I estimate the true cost of preparing the system for this policy change to be $3.1 billion. We cannot just tell our students and teachers the end goal and simply expect them to get there on their own."

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Editor's Note: The ruling may be found at CCMS Online Document Viewing [https://services.saccourt.com/publicdms2/DefaultDMS.aspx] (Outside Source), then type in the case number 00021188 into the search engine.