OVERVIEW
Lawsuits
challenging state methods of funding public schools have been
brought in 45 of the 50 states. This section of the ACCESS
Network's website provides brief summaries, by state, of the
historical background and recent events in these litigations
and related "costing-out" studies. We provide links
to court decisions, where available, and to relevant policy
and advocacy organizations. We also identify useful resources
for a more in-depth understanding of developments in particular
states.
National
Historical Background
Although
courts were called upon as early as 1819, in Massachusetts,
to decide education finance litigations, the modern era of
school funding cases began with decisions in 1971 in California
and 1973 in New Jersey
and the U.S. Supreme Court. An attempt to rely on federal
equal protection for funding equity, in Rodriguez
v. San Antonio, led to the 1973 Supreme Court decision
which concluded that education is not a fundamental right
under the federal constitution.
The Rodriguez
plaintiffs took their case to the Texas
state courts and won. Since Rodriguez, plaintiffs across
the country have sought relief primarily in state courts,
under state constitutional education clauses or equal protection
clauses. A few cases have also alleged that state finance
systems discriminate under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights
Act and § 1983, the post-Civil War anti-discrimination
statute. These cases are brought in state court, such as in
Alaska, or federal
court, such as in Pennsylvania
and Kansas.
In state
courts, equal protection ("equity") claims were
common in the 1970s and 1980s, but defendants won about two-thirds
of those cases, including suits in Colorado
and Georgia. However,
significant plaintiff victories were realized during this
period in Connecticut, Washington,
and West Virginia. Since 1989, plaintiffs
have won about two-thirds of the school funding decisions
(19 of 29), including landmark cases in Kentucky
and Montana. Many of these victories
resulted, in part, from a shift in legal strategy away from
"equity" claims to claims emphasizing the right
to an "adequate" education, which also led courts
in several states, such as Idaho
and South Carolina,
to reverse or distinguish earlier cases in which defendants
had prevailed.
Some
recent plaintiff losses, in Maine,
Nebraska, and Wisconsin,
came in equity cases where the state supreme court indicated
that an adequacy claim would likely fare better. Nonetheless,
equity cases were brought and won during these years in New
Hampshire and Vermont.
In some states where litigation has failed, advocates have
successfully pursued alternative strategies, such as amending
the state constitutions in Florida
and Oregon.
For a
more complete history of state and federal education finance
cases and the development of the concept of a constitutional
right to an adequate education, see the article by Michael
A. Rebell, "Education
Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts" (PDF format).
Recent
Developments
The most
recent major developments affecting education finance and
finance litigations include:
New cases
filed in Iowa, Colorado,
and Montana;
Continuing large revenue shortfalls in most states;
The 2002 state supreme court decisions in favor of plaintiffs
in Tennessee, Arkansas,
and Ohio, in a year with many school
funding court decisions.
A growing
trend toward costing-out
studies, which extended this year into California,
Maryland, Montana,
Nebraska, New
York, and Wisconsin.
Useful
Resources
Michael
A. Rebell,"Education
Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts" (2002; PDF).
Studies
in Judicial Remedies and Public Engagement.
Law and
School Reform: Six Strategies For Promoting Educational Equity
(Jay Heubert ed., 1999).
American
Education Finance Association (AEFA)/National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Report on Public
School Finance Systems in the United States and Canada
(with state-by-state profiles)
ACCESS
2002 Litigation News in
Review
| 
