Courts as Catalysts: State Supreme Courts and Public School Finance Equity

Capa
SUNY Press, 07/06/2001 - 290 páginas
Despite education being one of the most important, if not the most important, political issues for the American public, access to funding for education is not equal across school districts. Local public schools are generally funded by a combination of state aid and local property taxes, a combination which favors wealthier suburbs and disadvantages relatively poor urban and rural areas. Nationwide, low-income districts have gone to court attempting to remedy these inequities. But has litigation been worth the price from the activists perspective? Can poor districts (and poor parents and children) look to courts for help? Conversely, should rich districts fear court-ordered redistribution of wealth from their schools? This book examines the effectiveness of state supreme courts in Texas, Kentucky, and North Dakota in achieving funding equity between rich and poor public school districts. It includes more than ninety interviews with policymakers and observers and concludes that, although there are many factors that can help or hinder equity reform, courts can make a difference.
 

Índice

Courts and Social Reform
1
Funding American Public Schools
27
Texas We Want to Surrender We Just Dont Know Where To Turn Ourselves In
59
Kentucky The Courts Made Us Do It
111
North Dakota Well Give You One More Chance
167
State Supreme Courts and the Different Paths to Public School Finance Equity Reform
207
Cases Cited
241
Texas Questionnaires
247
Kentucky Questionnaires
251
North Dakota Questionnaires
255
Notes
259
Bibliography
263
Index
281
Direitos de autor

Outras edições - Ver tudo

Palavras e frases frequentes

Acerca do autor (2001)

Matthew H. Bosworth is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Winona State University.

Informação bibliográfica