The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling stating while the funding system is in need of major overhaul, it does satisfy minimum constitutional requirements. The Supreme Court determined the district court “erred in its overall analysis to find the Texas school-finance system unconstitutional”.
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling upholding the state’s public school funding system as constitutional, while asserting that the state’s more than 5 million students “deserve transformational, top-to-bottom reforms that amount to more than Band-Aid on top of Band-Aid”. Last year, the Legislature pumped about another $1.5 billion into schools, but that wasn’t enough to cover the 2011 cuts when adjusted for enrollment growth and inflation. The court was emphatic about their role in determining constitutionality, not optimality, and left the legislature with the “urgent challenge [to] upend an ossified regime ill-suited for 21st century Texas”.
Plus, Patrick has promised to make up $4 billion in federal funding for free and reduced-price school lunches that will disappear if Texas defies the Obama administration’s order to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
“They have to work with the local legislators, with their state representatives and their state senators, to make sure they understand how important this problem is”.
Friday’s opinion, released just after 9 a.m., said Texas’ school-funding system is legal.
Now that the issue is back to the Legislature, it’s incumbent on the people of Texas to join the fight for their future, which depends on how well we prepare the next generation.
“This is a sad day for Texas and for the future of our great state”. This past February, for example, the Kansas high court ordered the legislature to create a “constitutionally valid school finance system” before the 2016-17 school year begins in August.
Ms. Bono presented oral argument in September 2015 before the Texas Supreme Court on behalf of the “Edgewood ISD Plaintiffs”, comprised of low-income and English language learner students and five property-poor school districts in Texas.
Kermit ISD is also on the list of schools asking for change, Superintendent Dr. Denise Shetter said economy in the Permian Basin fluctuates and this decision will continue to hurt them.
“It’s unacceptable that Republicans continue to shortchange our children’s education”, the state Democratic Party said. Odden said studies don’t indicate whether student performance improves if a school focuses on small classrooms, and there’s no discernable benefit to offering more electives to keep students engaged.
In this lawsuit, more than two thirds of Texas school districts demanded better funding, arguing that the system doesn’t provide enough funding, especially for the most vulnerable children.
But if that happens, then lawmakers need to ensure that money stays with the local school district instead of diverting it to other purposes statewide. School administrators are doing their best with what little they have, but they shouldn’t be underfunded in the first place.
The Legislative Budget Board found 30 percent of Texas schools still get less than they did before the 2011 cuts, with wealthy districts getting about $50,000 more per classroom than poor ones.
Among the lawsuit’s complaints, the aforementioned cuts, and the alleged inequity of the “Robin Hood” style of funding, where school districts share property tax revenue.
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What he didn’t say was whether the legislature next year is likely to provide additional per student funding, something almost every district says it needs.
