Comm. for Educ. Equality v. Missouri, No. 04-323022 (Mo. Cir. Ct. Oct. 17, 2007)
A Missouri trial court has ruled that the state’s current system and level of funding public education conforms to the Missouri Constitution, which requires not "less than twenty-five percent of the state revenue, exclusive of interest and sinking fund, to be applied annually to the support of the free public schools." As it had in an earlier preliminary ruling in the case, the court rejected the state’s argument that the case should be dismissed because "how public education is funded is a political question that should be left to the discretion of the executive and legislative branches of government." The issue the plaintiffs raised was not one of policy but of state constitutional requirements, the court noted, adding that "[j]udicial review of legislative enactments is central to our system of checks and balances."
However, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the overall "adequacy" provision in Article IX, § 1(a) of the state constitution requires the state to provide funding in excess of the specific 25% requirement in Article IX, § 3(b). This interpretation, the court found, "simply ignores the existence and plain language of section 3(b)." Considering all the provisions together, the court concluded that section 1(a) simply describes what the state general assembly is to do ("establish and maintain free public schools for ... all persons in this state within ages not in excess of twenty-one years as prescribed by law") and why (because "[a] general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence [is] essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people"). As a result, the plaintiffs’ challenge was limited to whether the state is meeting the 25% requirement under § 3(b). The court held that the evidence demonstrated the state is exceeding the 25% requirement "under every reasonable method that provided consistent treatment of both the numerator and denominator."
Comm. for Educ. Equality v. Missouri, No. 04-323022 (Mo. Cir. Ct. Oct. 17, 2007)
[Editor’s Note: This result was not unexpected. Background on the suit, including a summary of the court’s previous ruling and proceedings, is available starting below.]
NSBA School Law pages on Comm. for Educ. Equality v. Missouri