Introduction: Good Intentions Captured – School Funding Adequacy and the Courts

Author/s
Eric A. Hanushek
Published Date
2006
Publication
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges’ Good Intentions and Harm Our Children
Details
Stanford, CA: Education Next Books
Pages
pp. xiii-xxxii
Perhaps the most important change in policy discussions about school finance was the introduction of court decision making into the determination of funding schemes. Following the California court case of Serrano v. Priest, begun in the late 1960s, most states had legal actions designed to change the method of funding local schools. This book provides relevant data for the consideration of adequacy court cases. The design is to bring together a series of important “data points” that highlight issues in assessing the adequacy of school finance. The analysis in these chapters forms the foundation for the conclusions and recommendations of the Koret Task Force on K–12 Education that conclude the book.