Nebraska Rural Schools File "Adequacy" Suit

On August 27, 2004, the Nebraska Coalition for Educational Equity and Adequacy (NCEEA), a coalition of 34 rural school districts throughout the state, filed a school funding adequacy lawsuit in state court against the governor and other state officials. The plaintiffs in NCEEA v. Johanns allege that the state education finance system is unconstitutional because it "fails to provide school districts with the resources needed to educate their students" to become productive citizens, find meaningful employment, and qualify for higher education.

According to the NCEEA plaintiffs, the state funding system leaves schools unable to provide the opportunity students need in order to reach the standards and goals required by state and federal law (NCLB). More specifically, plaintiffs assert that students are being denied adequate facilities, quality teaching, preschool education, vocational education, a college prep curriculum, and other essential programs and services.

Lack of State Support for Facilities
Nebraska is one of fewer than ten states in which the state provides no financial support for school facilities. That leaves poor rural school districts with insufficient means to build modern, accessible schools capable of supporting science labs, computer and communications technologies, and modern vocational education. The plaintiffs' complaint recounts limitations imposed on their schools and students by inadequate facilities.

Rural-Urban Cooperation
As reported in the Omaha World-Herald, this suit complements the Douglas County School District case, filed last year by the Nebraska Schools Trust on behalf of Omaha and three other urban Nebraska districts. That suit included many of the same allegations, on behalf of urban students. The urban and rural school districts have been cooperating in their legal efforts, providing an important example of the common challenges faced by rural and urban districts -- not only across Nebraska, but all over the country.

A ruling earlier this year in the Douglas County suit dismissed its adequacy claims and enabled plaintiffs to move forward with their equal protection (equity) claims. By filing in a different county (Lancaster), the NCEEA case may generate a court decision that allows the school funding adequacy claims to proceed on a parallel track with the Douglas County equity claims.

Relief Sought
Plaintiffs ask the court, among others things, to (1) declare education a fundamental right in Nebraska and (2) declare the funding system unconstitutional.

Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, August 31, 2004