The Council of the Great City Schools, a national organization representing the needs of urban public schools, has studied school finance in four member districts, including New York. The Councils interest in current litigation over school financing began when Council data were used in evidence to support the defendants in the case brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity against the State of New York. In its briefing to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, the State of New York defendants described the Council's data inaccurately in an effort to support the proposition that New York City students outperform students in other urban districts, including those with less disadvantaged student populations. This Amicus Brief is intended to set the record straight, providing the Court with information from its own analysis of state funding of the New York City Public Schools. The first section suggests that the Appellate Division's standard for a "sound basic education" makes a mockery of the New York Constitution's education clause (the presence of poor, minority, and immigrant students in New York City does not justify setting low standards for a sound basic education, and the Appellate Division's other efforts to rationalize the present system are equally unconvincing). The second section asserts that a meaningful standard for a sound basic education should be stated by the court. The brief concludes that New York State should have the opportunity to consider information on the real cost of providing necessary educational programs, services, and facilities, then adopt a system of funding public education that provides all students with the education they need. (SM)