Even as they struggle to climb out of deep financial holes, states are facing lawsuits that contend they don鈥檛 meet their constitutions鈥� requirements to provide sufficient funding to districts and fail to provide resources for disadvantaged schools and student populations.
Ongoing or recently decided legal battles in Colorado, Texas, Washington state, and elsewhere underscore the challenges confronting states that have been battered by the extended economic downturn and are only beginning to see their revenues improve. The cases also highlight the political and ideological divides over school funding in many states, with some governors and lawmakers choosing to balance budgets by making deep cuts in spending鈥攊ncluding for K-12鈥攔ather than raise taxes.
One of the more dramatic fights is taking shape in Texas, where four separate lawsuits鈥攂rought by an assortment of poor, middle-income, and wealthy districts, along with advocacy groups鈥攈ave been challenging different aspects of the school finance system. Those cases are playing out in the shadow of deep cuts, more than $5 billion by some estimates, that lawmakers imposed last year on the state鈥檚 schools鈥攔eductions that school officials say have laid bare the flaws in the current system.
Although the outcomes of lawsuits in a number of states are not likely to be known for some time, the cases could result in courts鈥� directing legislatures to make fixes to school finance systems, as was the case in Washington state.
As states continue to limp through a slow economic recovery, and many state leaders continue to vow to hold the line on spending, they are likely to face an increasing number of legal challenges, said Michael A. Rebell, a lawyer who represented New York City schools in a lawsuit challenging the New York state school funding system and who has consulted in other, similar cases.
He believes the courts will be obligated to ensure that state policymakers are financing schools to the levels required by their constitutions, but judges also may be more cautious about suggesting remedies so that they don鈥檛 overburden state budgets.
While courts have recognized that 鈥渃onstitutional rights don鈥檛 get put on hold because there鈥檚 a recession,鈥� Mr. Rebell said, 鈥渏udges are clearly sensitive to the lengths and depths of the current recession. ... Courts don鈥檛 live in a vacuum. They鈥檙e aware of the difficulty states are having.鈥�
At least a dozen states are facing lawsuits that challenge some aspects of their funding systems, estimates Mr. Rebell, who is now the executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity, at Teachers College, Columbia University, a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair funding across districts.
Texas Showdown
Legal and political debates over school funding are especially acute in Texas, where legislators, faced with a huge budget shortfall, changed state law in 2011 to allow them to provide schools with $4 billion less over two years than would otherwise have been required to account for growth in student enrollment and other factors. Cumulatively, the cuts to schools could reach $5.4 billion鈥攆or a state devoting about $34 billion in general-fund spending over two years to schools鈥攆orcing districts to lay off large numbers of employees and cut programs and services, the lawsuits say.
Roughly half of Texas鈥� 1,030 traditional school districts are represented in the lawsuits, supporters of those cases say.
The four lawsuits quarrel with Texas鈥� school finance system on different grounds. But an overriding theme is that the state is not providing adequate funding to school districts, particularly given the increasing academic demands placed on schools by the state.
Some of the districts also contend that the funding system is inequitable and provides impoverished school districts and needy populations such as English-language learners with insufficient resources. State legislators have continually changed funding mechanisms in ways that undermined districts鈥� funding, the lawsuits say.
Another charge is that the school finance system and the lack of state aid to districts essentially force districts to set taxes at various levels, which don鈥檛 necessarily result in them receiving substantial amounts of increased funding.
Texas鈥� funding system has 鈥渢hreatened the principle of local control,鈥� asserts one lawsuit. 鈥淪chool districts are supposed to enjoy meaningful discretion to generate and use local tax revenues for local enrichment purposes. But for many districts, this discretion has practically vanished.鈥�
Lawyers and advocates say it鈥檚 likely the lawsuits will be consolidated and go to the state supreme court. The Texas legislature is not scheduled to meet this year, so if a court mandated changes to the state鈥檚 school funding, lawmakers might not act until at least 2013, lawyers say.
Superintendent Charles E. Dupre of the Pflugerville Independent School District, a 23,000-student system that is a plaintiff in one suit, said the finance system does not reward his district with additional revenue for increased growth in its property value. His district, located outside Austin, serves a diverse, mixed-income population, including a large number of English-language learners, many of whom require significantly more resources, including smaller class sizes, and the state鈥檚 funding formula also does not account for that, he argued.
鈥淭he system is totally unreasonable,鈥� Mr. Dupre said.
Texas state Sen. Florence Shapiro, the Republican chairwoman of her chamber鈥檚 education committee, agreed that Texas鈥� funding system has structural flaws, particularly in that it is not suited to serve districts with very different needs. But she also said there were no easy fixes鈥攐r the lawmakers would have found them already.
鈥淲hatever the courts tell us, we will have to do,鈥� Ms. Shapiro said. But she also argued that discussions of school funding need to focus 鈥渘ot only about more money, but also about productivity.鈥�
Risky Cuts
States may be especially vulnerable if they have made budget-related cuts, such as reducing instructional time, that courts believe disproportionately affect disadvantaged students, said James W. Guthrie, a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, located in Dallas at the former president鈥檚 center. He expects the number of school finance lawsuits to increase as states struggle financially.
As long as advocates of increased school funding 鈥渃an鈥檛 get what they want through the traditional political process, we鈥檙e going to see more of them,鈥� he said of such cases.
But Mr. Guthrie does not believe the lawsuits, even when they have boosted funding and reduced disparities between districts, have been shown to increase student achievement. He doubted that Texas lawmakers would change the law to substantially benefit schools, saying the more likely result was 鈥渘o change and substantial confusion.鈥�
Another closely watched legal challenge is playing out in Colorado, where a state district court judge in December ruled that the school funding system is 鈥渋rrational鈥� and fails to meet state constitutional requirements. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has said the state will appeal the decision and has voiced concerns about having the issue decided in the courts.
鈥淭here are more appropriate venues for a vigorous and informed public debate about the state鈥檚 spending priorities,鈥� the governor said in a statement, adding that the decision offered 鈥渓ittle practical guidance鈥� on how to meet constitutional mandates.
The budget pressures on Colorado鈥檚 schools came into focus in November, when voters thoroughly rejected a proposed temporary tax increase that would have raised an estimated $3 billion for education. (鈥淭ax-Wary Voters, Needy Schools a Volatile Mix,鈥� Nov. 9, 2011.)
In Washington, that state鈥檚 supreme court ruled this month that the state is not living up to school funding requirements in its constitution. It directed the legislature to correct the situation over time, and it said it would monitor its work.
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, has said she agrees with the court that the state must revamp its funding system. Changes are crucial, given recent, deep cuts to K-12 funding, said the governor鈥檚 spokeswoman, Karina Shagren. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always said that the first dollars she gets go to education.鈥�
