Abstract, Table of Contents, and List of Tables

LEGAL CHALLENGES TO PUBLIC EDUCATION FINANCE: EQUITY V. ADEQUACY

J. MICHAEL MUNGER DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT — PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

ABSTRACT

This research examines the nature of public education financing in the United States. When education became a cornerstone of public policy in America, federalism dictated that the responsibility of implementation be delegated to the states, and from the states to the constituent school districts. Oftentimes these districts came to be divided--accidentally or on purpose--along lines of race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status; this led to wide variations in education outcomes. Such after effects have come under greater scrutiny over the past few decades. As a result, concerned parties have sued the states failing to deal with the consequential resource disparity among their respective districts. The pur- pose of this paper is to review the changes in public education finance laws re- sulting from various "Equal Protection" lawsuits, and the effects said changes have had. A key theme of this evaluation is in examining the evolution of constitutional arguments juxtaposed to the change in social mores. To this end, meta- data has been compiled of relevant statistics sourced form a sample of states. The states chosen represent a diverse socioeconomic cross-section and are among the states that had to change their financing methods. The intent here is to decipher what if any corollary impact the respective changes have had, specifically in terms of demographic-based dropout and freshman graduation rates.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF TABLES

CH 1—INTRODUCTION
A. Financing Public Education in America
B. Current Research Regarding Finance Inequity
C. Where the Status Quo Leads Us

CH 2—METHODOLOGY
A. From Plessy to Brown: Foundational Rights
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Cummings v. Board of Education (1899)
Gong Lum v. Rice (1927)
Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
B. Framing the Public Education Finance Debate
Green v. County School Board (1968)
Swann v. Board of Education (1971
Serrano v. Priest (1971)
San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez (1973)
Keyes v. School District No.1 (1973)
Milliken v. Bradley (1974

CH 3—STATE CASES: EQUITY AND ADEQUACY IN FUNDING
A. Tennessee
B. Massachusetts
C. Missouri
D. Idaho
E. West Virginia

CH 4—RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

CH 5—CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX
1. TENNESSEE
2. MASSACHUSETTS
3. MISSOURI
4. IDAHO
5. WEST VIRGINIA
6. Dropouts and Respective Rates: TN, MA, MO, & WV
7. Percentage of Dropouts as a Total of ALL Students: Idaho

LIST OF TABLES

1—Percentages of Local/State/Federal Spending
2—Seven Capacities from Kentucky Litigation
3—Selected Federal Cases
4—Selected State Cases
5—TN Change in Dropout Rates (2000-2008)
6—TN Change in Per-Pupil Spending (1993 to 2006)
7—MA Change in Dropout Rates (2000-2008)
8—MA Change in Per-Pupil Spending (1993 to 2006)
9—MO Change in Dropout Rates (2000-2008)
10—MO Change in Per-Pupil Spending (1993 to 2008)
11—ID Change in Drop-out Rates (2000-2008)
12—ID Change in Per-Pupil Spending (1993 to 2006)
13—WV Change in Dropout Rates (2000-2008)
14—WV Change in Per-Pupil Spending (1993 to 2008)