The Texas School Finance Litigation Saga: Great Progress, then Near Death by a Thousand Cuts.
Kauffman, Albert H.
Abstract
The Texas Legislature’s system for financing Texas schools is significantly more equitable after Edgewood v. Kirby. Edgewood I and Edgewood II effectively forced the legislature to improve the finance system. However, the rulings in the first two Edgewood cases have been whittled away by the last four Edgewood decisions.. As a result, courts now approach fundamental issues, legislative power, and the relationship between them differently.
The Edgewood v. Kirby legacy still improves the equity and adequacy of Texas’s public education finance system. This legacy is expanded upon with observations regarding long term impacts of the Texas school finance litigation saga.