Category «School Funding»

The Argument for Early Childhood Education

Access to affordable, quality early childhood education is a critical piece missing from the education system in this country. Children from poor families who live in impoverished areas benefit significantly from quality early childhood education. Yet, it’s those same families who struggle the most with the availability and affordability of quality care. An article published in …

Kansas Supreme Court Finds Education Funding Unconstitutional

Last year, I wrote here about the ongoing education funding woes for Kansas public schools. Last year, a three-judge district court panel ruled that public school funding in Kansas was inadequate and inequitable. Earlier this week, the Kansas Supreme Court issued an opinion in Gannon v. State of Kansas affirming the lower court’s ruling that wealth-based disparities in …

The 2013 Special Session

Governor Beebe has called a special session of the Arkansas General Assembly to begin today at 3:00 p.m. for legislators to address the health insurance premium increase that public school teachers and employees would otherwise face starting January 1, 2014, which I’ve discussed here and here. Governor Beebe had stated that he would not call a …

Texas Court Rules School Funding Unconstitutional

A Texas district court in Austin ruled Monday that the state school funding system is inadequate, inequitable, and unconstitutional. The litigation began when more than 600 school districts, including the Fort Worth Independent School District and several other major North Texas school districts, filed a total of six lawsuits after the Texas Legislature cut $5.5 …

Tennessee Governor Endorses Vouchers

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam elaborated on his education initiatives in his State of the State speech Monday night to the Tennessee General Assembly. In doing so, Haslam defended a bill filed by Tennessee State Senator Mark Norris, a Republican from Collierville, TN, that establishes the Tennessee Choice and Opportunity Scholarship Program. Under this program, 5,000 …