Colorado Parents
and School Districts File Adequacy Lawsuit
Concerned parents and financially strapped districts from across the
state have filed suit in Denver District Court, alleging that, as a result
of Colorado's extremely restrictive tax laws, the state is unconstitutionally
under-funding the education system by close to one billion dollars annually.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which is supported by the Colorado Education
Association, the Colorado Association of School Boards, and the Colorado
Association of School Executives, amongst others, are being represented
by lawyers from Children's Voices, a Colorado public-interest law firm.
The plaintiffs argue that the Colorado legislature has consistently failed
to fulfill the education clause of the state constitution, which mandates
a “thorough and uniform” public school system.
Colorado's school funding system is particularly limited because of
several tax-related laws enacted in recent decades. The primary culprit
is the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR), which tightly restricts increases
in the state budget from year to year and demands voter approval for
any new taxes proposed by the legislature. TABOR's effect on the Colorado
budget has been disastrous, as economic struggles and uncontrollable
growth in certain state spending categories have created a dearth of
available state funds that cannot be legally restored. Colorado voters
attempted to address the resultant drop in education money through Amendment
23, which guarantees that education funding will increase at the rate
of inflation plus one through 2011. However, this guarantee has come
to serve as more of a ceiling than a floor and does not come close to
keeping up with growth in actual education costs, which is significantly
higher than inflation. Plaintiffs' attorneys noted that Colorado ranks
last in the nation in the percentage of personal income spent on education.
Special Programs, Special Needs
One of the primary concerns of the plaintiffs is the dramatic lack of
resources for educating students with disabilities and English Language
Learners (ELLs). The Denver Post reports that ELL students in
Colorado currently receive only $80 to $90 more per year than the average
student. Most experts advise that states provide at least twice what
is spent per non-ELL student in order to adequately educate an ELL student
in English as well the core subjects.
According to the Rocky Mountain News, the
plaintiffs' case also emphasizes the need for preschool and full-day
kindergarten, improved transportation, and specialized programs that
improve educational outcomes, such as vocational education and gifted
and talented programs. Many states have adopted such programs as a proven
means of advancing statewide achievement and educational opportunity
and closing the achievement gap.
Legislative Answers
The plaintiffs are requesting that the state mandate an education cost
study, which will determine the specific dollar amount required to provide
a constitutionally “thorough and uniform” education to all of the state's
public school students. Cost studies have been used to determine appropriate
funding in numerous other states and court cases. The plaintiffs argue
that the funding of education in the state should be based on its actual
cost, and are willing to see TABOR or other tax restrictions altered
or eliminated in order to ensure this funding is provided.
Voicing what has now become a familiar refrain from state defendants
in adequacy lawsuits, Colorado lawmakers expressed the concern that a
judicial decision in this matter will usurp their authority over the
state budget. However, it is questionable whether this objection will
meet with much success, as the authority of a state court to intervene
in order to protect the constitutional right of children to educational
opportunity has been repeatedly reaffirmed in other adequacy
cases.
Prepared by Nelly Ward, July 7, 2005 |
