School finance reform will still be a major issue in the 1980s, in both state legislatures and the courts. Reform efforts have concentrated on four issues: differences in expenditure per pupil across districts within a state, links between expenditure disparities and district property wealth, services for special needs students, and unique conditions of some types of districts. Actions in the 1970s began with court challenges and moved to legislated finance reforms, which have reduced the expenditure-wealth link. The 1970s reform activities also helped maintain total education expenditures and increase the state share of such spending. In the 1980s the demographic, political, and economic contexts of school finance will include declining school-age populations, increasing proportions of minority students, potential decreases in political support, competition with tax limitation movements, and political fragmentation within the education community. Seven issues will dominate school finance in the 1980s, including continued basic school finance reforms, finance reforms' linkage to tax structure questions, educational program and service equity concerns, educational productivity, simplification of categorical programs, the relationship between school finance and state and local finance in general, and continued litigation on school finance. (RW)