Connecticut Supreme Court rules education funding constitutional News
Connecticut Supreme Court rules education funding constitutional

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF] last week that the state’s education funding formula does not violate the state constitution [text, PDF].

The decision, which reverses a lower court ruling [JURIST report], came this week after 14 months of deliberation.

The case was brought by the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding against various state agencies and various school districts. The plaintiffs argued that the state’s handling of fund distribution to its public schools violates the right to public education, equal protection free of favoritism, and equal protection under the law, found in the state consitution.

The Supreme Court examined this issue by employing a multi-factor test. The court considered whether the state violated the constitution based on the following factors: adequate physical facilities and classrooms, adequate instrumentalities of learning, up-to-date basic curricula, and sufficiently trained teaching staff.

Based on an examination of facts, the Supreme Court noted that poorer district schools actually receive more funding than more wealthy districts. Therefore the state Supreme Court ruled that there was no violation of the state’s constitution on grounds of distribution of educational funding.