Michael Rebell

Michael A. Rebell is executive director of the Center for Educational Equity and professor of law and educational practice at Teachers College, Columbia University. Previously, Mr. Rebell co-founded and served as Executive Director and Counsel of The Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), which won a major constitutional ruling, CFE v. State of New York, 801 N.E. 2d 326 (NY 2003), in which the New York Court of Appeals declared that all children are entitled under the state Constitution to the “opportunity for a sound basic education” and ordered the State of New York to reform its education finance system to meet these constitutional requirements. Mr. Rebell was also lead counsel in, A.C. v. Raimondo, 494 F. Supp. 3d 170 (D.R.I. 2020), a case that sought to establish a right under the U.S. Constitution for an education adequate to prepare all students to be capable citizens. He has also litigated numerous other class-action lawsuits.

Rebell also serves as the executive director of the Schoolfunding.info Network, a research project that maintains a website that provides up-to-date information on the status of litigations and education finance reform in all 50 states, and he also consultants with plaintiffs, legislators and advocates throughout the country on school funding matters. He is also the convener of the DemocracyReadyNY Coalition, a statewide, nonpartisan coalition of organizations and individuals committed to preparing all students for civic participation.

Rebell has written six books, including Courts and Kids: Pursuing Educational Equity Through the State Courts (2009) and Flunking Democracy: Schools, Courts and Civic Participation (2018), and several dozen articles on a wide range of education issues, including educational equity, education finance, civic preparation, testing, and the rights of students with disabilities. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, and has previously taught at Yale Law School and Columbia Law School.