“But We’re in a Court of Law. We’re Not in a Legislature.” The Promise and Pitfalls of Educational Policy Reform Through the Judicial Branch

When courts engage in educational policymaking through what is called “public law litigation, ” they set foot in unsettled territory. Framing the authors ’ work in legal studies literature, this article relays how one court engaged in a sweeping reform of special education in Chicago and teacher certification in the entire state of Illinois. Based on an extensive document analysis from primary and secondary sources, three specific ways in which public law litiga-tion differs from policy making in the legislative branch and from traditional court behavior are examined: (a) the fit between problem and solution, (b) the issue of participation and representation, and (c) the tension between finality and flexibility. The conclusion is that policy entrepreneurs, government offi-cials, and courts need to be aware of the issues and tensions in the process of judicial policy making to enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of public law litigation remedies