A Second School Funding Suit Filed in Kentucky

Fourteen years after it prevailed in the landmark Kentucky Supreme Court ruling, Rose v. Council for Better Education, the same Council, whose membership has grown to include 164 of Kentucky's 176 school districts, filed a complaint in state court on September 17, 2003, seeking "adequate funding for elementary and secondary education."

The Council v. Williams complaint alleges that Kentucky's current education statutes comply with the State Constitution -- "but only if the General Assembly appropriates sufficient funds . . ." The named defendants are the Commonwealth's current legislative leaders.

Achievement-based Claims

While acknowledging educational progress since the nationally significant Rose decision in 1989, the Council's complaint points to Kentucky's ambitious student achievement standards, explains that helping schoolchildren reach "proficiency" goals requires adequate resources, and asserts a shortfall in state funding for, inter alia, kindergarten, preschool, facilities, technology, and teacher salaries that would be competitive with those of other states.

In an unusual request for most school funding complaints, the Council asks the court to "enter judgment declaring and determining the amount of additional funding" that the legislature needs to appropriate. Nonetheless, at its core, the complaint relies on the Rose decision and asks the court to mandate compliance with that strong precedent.

Costing Out and Tax Structure

The complaint briefly summarizes the findings of a costing-out study commissioned by the Council, which found that an additional $892 million of revenue is needed annually to provide an adequate education in Kentucky. It also mentions two other recent cost studies performed for the state that produced similar findings.

Last year, Kentucky education stakeholders, including the Prichard Committee, began to focus on the state's tax structure, which--like the tax structures in most states--has not evolved as the economy has changed. State revenues over the last decade have not kept pace with economic growth and actual increases in education costs and have been further depressed by the current recession.

Young v. Williams

Student and parent plaintiffs filed a school funding lawsuit in January 2003, Young v. Williams, which seeks adequate and equitable funding.

Prepared September 29, 2003