Many recent critical reforms in state school finance systems have been catalyzed by the courthouse, not the statehouse. Advocates for equity-focused school finance reforms often consider legal action as the best path to significant policy changes. This brief discusses state-level lawsuits on adequacy and equity grounds and their outcomes.

"Power, Constraint, and Policy Change" analyzes state court influence on state education finance reform. Beginning in the early 1970s litigants began filing suits in state courts to change state education funding in order to prevent disparities in education resources between wealthy and poor communities. These cases represent a…

Presently, charter schools exist in 43 states. The Minnesota Legislature first created charter schools in the United States in 1991. As of 2018, there were nearly 7,000 charter schools in 43 states serving over approximately 3 million students. The creation, control, and mission of these schools varies from state to state. This analysis examines…

Beginning in 2018, the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, comprised of 13 members inside and outside of the legislature, will begin the task of studying and making recommendations to improve the school finance system. This five-part series prepares readers to engage with lawmakers and the school finance commission by providing background…

Beginning in 2018, the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, comprised of 13 members inside and outside of the legislature, will begin the task of studying and making recommendations to improve the school finance system. This five-part series prepares readers to engage with lawmakers and the school finance commission by providing background…

This report is an update on eight state-level cases: (1) "School Financier Litigation in Minnesota" (Van D. Mueller), which states students are allowed enhanced access to suburban schools and to Minneapolis magnet schools; (2) "School Finance Litigation across the States--New Hampshire" (Van D. Mueller), which states the court ruled that property…

Blasts the supreme court of Washington State for its inappropriate treatment of Larry Witters, a legally blind student denied state vocational rehabilitation funds because his intended Bible studies program supposedly violated the First Amendment's establishment clause. Even a United States Supreme Court reversal failed to end Witter's…

The New Jersey legislature revised the school funding formula by eliminating $250 million in state aid over 4 years to 150 suburban districts and sending nearly $1 billion more to 30 less affluent districts. Contends that the method will ensure mediocrity and stifle innovation. Proposes three other funding formulas. (MLF)

This report offers an analysis of school finance litigation during 1998. It summarizes cases in New Jersey, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and New York. These states were sued due to failure to provide a thorough and efficient system of common schools, ineffective efforts to provide equitable financing to poorer school…

Summarizes previous decisions in New York State courts on "Levittown v. Nyquist," a case challenging the constitutionality of the state's public school finance system. Discusses the recent New York Court of Appeals decision reversing earlier courts and holding that the finance system provides equal protection and is not unconstitutional.…

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that Governor Rockefeller could not, without compelling factual justification, reduce previously appropriated state education funds. It held that public education had a constitutionally preferred status among state functions. A minority opinion argued that the ruling would impede administrative…

Supreme Courts in Texas, Kentucky, and Montana have ordered their legislatures to devise more equitable ways of distributing funds to schools. The New Jersey Supreme Court is hearing a case; and lawsuits challenging school financing systems are pending in Alaska, Connecticut, Indiana, North Dakota, Oregon, and Tennessee. (MLF)

Describes Ohio's efforts to fund school facilities following a state court decision that Ohio Constitution required adequate facilities. Explores political and economic factors for relative success of state programs to fund school facilities. Despite these efforts, voter-approved bond issues remain the principal means of funding facilities. (PKP)

New York State's system of financing education needs reform. Children in school districts where poverty pervades do not receive an adequate education; disparities in available funding resources have produced uneven levels of school spending among school districts; and state-aid formulas fail to correct for differences among districts. Children in…

New York State provides aid to local schools in a way that is unfair to the neediest school districts with high educational needs or low property wealth. Proposed in this policy brief is a new formula for state aid based on a comprehensive educational cost index and a school performance index that reflects an average passing rate on the new…