Kansas Supreme Court Orders Major Funding Increase

Kansas Decision Has Major Implications for Other Cases

On June 3, 2005, the Kansas Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that requires the state to more than double the school funding increase it appropriated in April for the 2005-2006 school year. Specifically, the Court ordered that “no later than July 1, 2005 . . . the legislature shall implement a minimum increase of $285 million above the funding level for the 2004-05 school year.” The legislature, in response to a prior order in the Montoy v. State school funding case, had appropriated a 2005-2006 increase of $142 million. In its decision, the court also prohibited the legislature from enforcing a number of features of the state aid formulas, which it held to increase the disparities between low-need and high-need districts.

The Court's Authority

The court's ruling followed oral arguments presented on May 11. In response to arguments by the state that the court did not have the authority to address the issues before it in this case, the court said that

[W]hile it is for the General Assembly to legislate a remedy, courts do possess the authority to enforce their orders, since the power to declare a particular law or enactment unconstitutional must include the power to require a revision of that enactment, to ensure that it is then constitutional.

The Kansas Court reviewed actions of supreme courts in other states that had faced resistance to compliance orders in school funding cases, and concluded that:

Other state courts consistently reaffirm their authority, indeed their duty, to engage in judicial review and, when necessary, compel the legislative and executive branches to conform their actions to that which the constitution requires.

Students' “time for their education is now”

The court further stated that “… we cannot continue to ask current Kansas students to be patient. The time for their education is now.” The North Carolina Supreme Court in its 2004 opinion also called for immediate compliance with constitutional requirements, holding that, “We cannot…imperil even one more class unnecessarily.” In fact, schoolchildren all across the country, no less than those in Kansas and North Carolina , are entitled to vindication of their state constitutional rights to an education that prepares them for their lives in the 21st century.

Legislator Reactions

Initially, several legislators reacted angrily to the court's decision and were considering ways to resist or ways to retaliate against the court. However, by now, ideas are emerging for possible solutions. The legislature will go into special session to address the situation.

Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, June 16, 2005