52.011 - Revisiting San Antonio v. Rodriguez: Have We Achieved Equal Educational Opportunity in School Funding?

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

In San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez case (1973), the United States Supreme Court had to determine if the public education finance system in Texas violated the Fourteenth Amendment & Equal Protection Clause by failing to distribute funding equally among school districts. Lacking evidence of systemic discrimination against the poor across Texas, the court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not provide a fundamental right to education and that education funding is a state issue. Since that time, school funding litigation has moved beyond equality to issues of equity and adequacy. Recent research reveals that disparities in funding and educational opportunities exist across U.S. states and school districts. The Presidential Session revisits the legacy of the Rodriguez decision by examining the following questions: Is there greater inequality today than in 1973? What are the legal avenues to improve school funding? Should education funding continue to be determined at the state level? If not, how might such systemic changes in School-funding be realized? What are the directions in future research on school funding?

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chairs

• William Kyle Ingle, University of Louisville

• Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, Arizona State University

Participants

• Enrique Aleman, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Marisa Bono, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund

• Bruce Fuller, University of California - Berkeley

• Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, Arizona State University

• Lawrence O. Picus, University of Southern California

Discussant

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute