The court's finding invalidates New York State's system of financing schools because of problems including municipal overburden. (Author/IRT)

Published prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the case, this report puts into perspective the questions and problems before the State of Texas in resolving the issue raised by Rodriguez vs San Antonio. The document reviews the key elements of the decision in the Rodriguez case and considers alternative approaches that comply with the…

Summarizes 16 state court decisions in 15 states concerning equity in statewide school finance systems, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez" decision. Finds that some state legislatures and courts reformed their finance systems, while others let inequalities continue. (RW)

This document contains the proceedings of presentations made by the Fiscal Issues, Policy and Education Finance Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association (AERA). Ten articles focus on equitable funding systems for K-12 education and examine school financing in the following states: Florida, Illinois, New York,…

Reviewing literature on educational finance and law, this paper analyzes the rationale for the recent school finance reform movement and recounts the movement's progress from 1965 to 1979. An overview of the problem discusses state equalization programs' ability to provide financial equity and the relationship of financial equity to equal…

Inequality in school facilities is emerging as a pivotal factor in court decisions that have ruled state school-funding systems unconstitutional. This report examines cases in three states--Arizona, Ohio, and Texas--where courts considered school facilities paramount in ruling the funding system unconstitutional. Arizona's school funding system…

Updated information is provided in this addendum to an original report that assessed the equity of the Kansas School District Equalization Act (SDEA) from 1973 to 1988. This consultants' analysis on behalf of Turner School District in "Mock v. State of Kansas" consists of five parts. Following an introduction, section 2 reviews the…

Two particular features of the Virginia education system were analyzed in light of a present constitutional requisite for equalized educational funding. The Virginia Quality Standards for Education were analyzed as to their impact on equalization of educational spending throughout the State. Particular attention was given to requirements for…

An analysis of the effect of the Kansas School District Equalization Act (SDEA) of 1973 on public school financing is provided in this consultants' report on behalf of six plaintiff school districts in "Newton United School District 373 et al., v. the State of Kansas." Following an introduction, the second section sets forth the initial…

Equity effects of program growth and diversification on the Utah public education finance system are examined. The degree to which student and taxpayer equity are achieved by district formulas of the Minimum School Program are assessed by analysis of school-related taxation and spending over time, current distribution patterns of state support,…

In 1992, economic recession and the resulting drop in anticipated revenues placed the Illinois educational system in a state of financial crisis. Two related developments included delayed state aid payment and a 3-percent budget recision. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effect of the decline in funding on Illinois public…

During 1996-97 each of the three branches of Wisconsin State government--the judiciary, the executive, and the legislative--experienced substantial activity regarding educational finance policies. After describing Wisconsin's current school-finance system, this paper examines Wisconsin school finance based on the 1996-97 actions of the judiciary,…

This book offers an overview of educational finance law and examines constitutional challenges to state aid plans. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to education finance litigation, including the early history of education finance litigation and early education finance theory. Chapter 2 discusses the states' responsibilities for providing equal…

After decades of media attention, study, and lawsuits, the solution to inequities in school funding remains elusive. This paper examines several strategies that states have used to try to close the funding disparities in per-pupil spending. It explains the two definitions of equity in the school-finance arena and identifies some important trends…

This report examines various school finance issues raised by the California case of Serrano v. Priest. Chapter 1 focuses on the issue of local control; it discusses four methods of providing state aid to education in terms of how they affect local control of schools. Chapter 2 analyzes different remedies for inequitable distribution of funds and…