The Great Recession of 2008 put a major dent in what had been a highly successful run of lawsuits that compelled states to provide more equitable funding for poorer school districts. But that bit of history is not likely to repeat itself during and after the COVID pandemic, say Teachers College鈥檚 Michael Rebell and other experts in .
Rebell, Professor of Law & Educational Practice, was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a suit concluded in 2006, in which a court ruling decreed that New York State must provide New York City with billions of dollars in additional school funding. Some of the funds were received, but the recession brought the payments to a halt.
麻豆原创s , which Rebell directs, has since tracked the outcomes in suits in other states and found that plaintiffs are often prevailing -- particularly when they were asking courts to enforce previous rulings.
鈥淎 lot of state courts were willing to say, 鈥楨ven though it鈥檚 a recession, that doesn鈥檛 put students鈥� constitutional rights on hold. We said funding is inadequate, and we meant it and we鈥檙e going to follow through,鈥欌�� Rebell says in the Education Week story.
Rebell points to a recent settlement in Delaware, under which the state鈥檚 governor will be required to propose a budget by 2024 that will alter Delaware鈥檚 tax structure to annually provide at least $60 million for historically disadvantaged students.
Rebell points to a recent settlement in Delaware, under which the state鈥檚 governor will be required to propose a budget by 2024 that will alter Delaware鈥檚 tax structure to annually provide at least $60 million for historically disadvantaged students.
鈥淒elaware basically said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not going to squeeze the state to come up with money during the middle of this pandemic when revenue is being cut, but we鈥檒l make a settlement that鈥檚 looking at a future time period,鈥� Rebell says.