Five Plaintiff Wins in the Last Year, Busy 2005
for Courts and Legislatures
In
the last year alone, plaintiffs have won major victories
in five school funding adequacy cases and settled in
two. More courts are expected to issue decisions
in 2005, and several cases are moving forward on appeal
or toward trial. Advocates in other states are considering
filing lawsuits to remedy the lack of access to educational
opportunities for students in under-funded schools.
2005
As a result of the 2005 plaintiff wins and pressure
from pending and threatened cases, legislators and governors
in many states must grapple with proposals to bring
their education finance systems up to constitutional
standards in their 2005 sessions, which begin this month.
Some states face specific court orders and short-term
deadlines.
The most imminent deadline is in Kansas, where the
state must reform its school funding system by April
12, under threat by the Kansas Supreme Court of an imposed
remedy, according to its January
3, 2005 decision. Montana and New York also need
to comply with court orders in this year’s legislative
sessions, and Arizona needs to resolve a long-standing
state violation of the rights of its English language
learner students. Texas will be attempting to reform
its funding system in response to a 2004 lower court
order, in the West Orange-Cove case, which
is on appeal.
2005 Rulings Anticipated
A decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court is expected in late January, in Hancock v.
Driscoll, on the appeal of a lower court’s
opinion in favor of plaintiffs. The New York remand
court will also likely issue an order this month, in
CFE v. State, on the state’s failure
to comply with the 2003 Court of Appeals order (the
Court of Appeals is the state’s highest court).
In Columbia Falls v. State, the Montana Supreme
Court plans to issue a full opinion, after issuing an
expedited and abbreviated decision in late 2004 so the
legislature could remedy the state’s constitutional
violation during its 2005 session. In addition, the
South Carolina trial court ruling in Abbeville v.
State is anticipated in the spring or summer. Moreover,
the highest courts in Texas and Maryland are expected
to rule on appeals by defendants in West Orange-Cove
ISD v. Nelson and Bradford v. Maryland State
Board of Education, respectively.
New Cases Being Planned
Potential plaintiffs in Michigan, Oklahoma, Connecticut,
Tennessee, Florida, and California are considering filing
school funding litigations in their states.
2004 in Review
For articles on the many 2004 court decisions, appeals,
and new cases filed, link to:
Plaintiff
Victory in Massachusetts
Plaintiff Victory
in Montana
North Carolina Plaintiffs
Win Major Victory
California Settles
Williams School Funding Case
Judge Declares
Texas School Funding Inadequate and Unconstitutional
Alaska Parents, Advocates,
Educators File School Funding Lawsuit
Adequacy Lawsuit Seeks
Better Future for Georgia
Nebraska
Rural Schools File Adequacy Suit
Louisiana
School Funding Lawsuit Filed
Court Orders Better
Funding for Baltimore City Schools
Special Masters
Recommend Billions for New York Schools
South Carolina, Missouri,
and Arizona: Litigation Updates
Idaho Supreme
Court Thwarts Attempt to End School Funding Suit
Kentucky
Court Denies Motion to Dismiss
Legal
Actions Counter Cuts in Florida and Maryland
School Funding Updates and the www.schoolfunding.info
website will continue reporting on school funding litigations
and related matters throughout the year.
Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, January 13, 2005
|
