Rose v. Council for Better Education,

790 S.W.2d 186, 60 Ed. Law Rep. 1289 (1989)

• 1985  
• Complaint included 
• 66 property-poor rural school districts
• Claimed the state education finance system violated the state constitution
• System of school financing provided for by the General Assembly is inadequate;
• Places too much emphasis on local school board resources;
• Results in inadequacies, inequities and inequalities throughout the state
• Resulting in an inefficient system of common school education in violation of Kentucky Constitution
• Violating Sections 1, 3 and 183 and the equal protection clause and the due process of law clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution
• Entire system is not efficient under the mandate of Section 183.
• Relief Sough
• Declaration of rights to the effect that the system be declared unconstitutional;
• Funding of schools also be determined to be unconstitutional and inadequate;
• Defendant, Superintendent of Public Instruction be enjoined from further implementing said school statutes;
• Mandamus be issued, directing the Governor to recommend to the General Assembly the enactment of appropriate legislation which would be in compliance with the aforementioned constitutional provisions;
• Mandamus be issued, directing the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to place before the General Assembly appropriate legislation which is constitutionally valid;
• Mandamus be issued, directing the General Assembly to provide for an "equitable and adequate funding program for all school children so as to establish an 'efficient system of common schools.' "

• 1989
• State Supreme Court issued a final ruling
• “Kentucky’s entire system of common schools…unconstitutional.”
• Court Ordered the General Assembly
• To provide funding “Sufficient to provide each child in Kentucky an adequate education.”
• Reform the property tax system

• 1990
• Legislature enacted a comprehensive package of educational reforms
• Tied those reforms to the court-ordered funding reforms
• Result: Funding increased dramatically
• All schools have adopted at least some of the education reforms

Seven learning goals, for "each and every child,"

1. Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization;
2. Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to make informed choices;
3. Sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the student to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation;
4. Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness;
5. Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage;
6. Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently; and
7. Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market.

 

Conclusion:

 "Money Matters" and the state responsibility for public education cannot be disclaimed in the name of "local government."

 

This case has served as a touchstone for other courts deciding similiar cases ever since.

 

 

Young v. Williams, 2006

• 16 Kentucky student and their parents have filed a school funding lawsuit
• Plaintiffs are asking Frankin County Circuit Court to
• Declare the current funding system unconstiutional declare the current funding system unconstitutional;
• Require the General Assembly to pass a budget, which it failed to do last year;
• Mandate funding that is adequate for a "proper education" and equitable among districs
• Concerns
• State's education finance system does not provide adequate funding for a quality education
• Debate has begun to focus on the state's tax structure, which--like the tax structures in most states--has not evolved as the economy has changed.
• State revenues over the last decade have not kept pace with economic growth and actual increases in education costs and have been further depressed by the current recession. 
• Judgement - Dismissal
• On February 13, Judge Thomas Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Court dismissed Young v. Williams, Kentucky’s school funding lawsuit.
• Plaintiffs relied on the famous 1989 case Rose v. Council for Better Education, in which the Kentucky Supreme Court declared education a fundamental right and mandated equitable and adequate funding for public schools.
• Judge Thomas Wingate ruled that there was no “objective evidence of shortcomings in Kentucky’s education system,” and that the significant improvement in student output measures following the legislative response to Rose is evidence in itself of the adequacy of Kentucky schools.