| Rhode
IslandHistorical Background
In 1995, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held, in City
of Pawtucket v. Sundlun, 662 A.2d 40, that Rhode
Island's statutory scheme for financing public education
did "not violate either the education clause or
the equal-protection provision of the State Constitution."
The court interpreted the education clause as providing
the legislature with great discretion in this area and
advised plaintiffs to seek a remedy "in that forum
rather than in the courts."
Recent Events
In February 2010, the school committees, superintendent
of schools and a number of students and parents in the
cities of Woonsocket and Pawtucket have initiated a
suit against Rhode Island’s governor and legislative
leaders.
Steve Robinson, the attorney for the plaintiffs in
the present case, who also was also plaintiffs’
attorney in the earlier case, constructed a meticulously
documented petition which directly responds to the Supreme
Court’s justiciability concerns. Specifically,
the petition alleges that over the past 15 years, the
state’s General Assembly and the state education
department, have adopted detailed academic standards
and have imposed numerous obligations on local school
districts to provide meaningful educational opportunities
for all students, but that they have failed to provide
adequate or equitable funding to allow the districts
to carry out these obligations. The petition also cites
numerous state statutes and regulations, and legislatively-commissioned
studies that provide concrete standards and mechanisms
for remedying these inadequacies and inequities.
Last updated, February 2010
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