North Dakota Lawsuit Seeks Adequate and Equitable School Funding

North Dakota plaintiffs, including eight school districts and parent-taxpayers and their children who live in those districts, have filed a lawsuit, Williston Public School District No. 1 v. State, in which they claim that the state education finance system violates the state constitution's Education Article and equal protection provisions and infringes on substantive due process rights.

Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges inadequate and inequitable school funding due, at least in part, to heavy reliance on local property taxes and an unusual lack of equalization in the calculations that determine distribution of the state portion of funding.

The complaint also points to a recent costing-out study prepared for the Department of Public Instruction in alleging that "the State is severely under-funding education" and that even many property-wealthy districts are "unable to generate sufficient revenue" to provide the constitutionally required adequate level of educational opportunity -- especially in light of state standards and new federal mandates in the "No Child Left Behind" Act.

Prepared November 25, 2003