What Does "State Takeover" Of Schools Mean?

In this Majority Report clip, Sam Seder interviews Professor Domingo Morel state takeovers of school districts.

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"On Wednesday, the New Jersey State Board of Education approved a measure to return local control of the Newark Public Schools to the city of Newark.

This is an important moment for several reasons. Most importantly, it allows the city to join most localities in the U.S. in running their own school district. For Newarkers, it marks the first time in over two decades that they will have decision-making authority in the schools.

Yet, while the return to local control is an important step, it is not enough. The decision to return local control suggests that the causes of the takeover have been addressed. However, there is little evidence that state officials, and the state's residents, have adequately grappled with the causes of the Newark takeover.

To justify the takeover of the Newark schools in 1995, the state produced a Comprehensive Compliance Investigation report, which detailed the shortcomings of the district. The report laid blame on local authorities, including the school board, district administrators, and city officials. Although the report was careful in casting the students and their families as the victims of administrative neglect, it was implied that the community was also responsible since it is the community after all that put these officials in positions of authority. The state takeover of the Newark school district in 1995 was, according to state officials, a needed intervention to address the neglect."