Oral arguments heard in key school finance lawsuit
Published: February 3, 2016
Attorneys last Wednesday presented oral arguments in the Robles-Wong v. State of California lawsuit, which alleges that the state’s school finance system violates article IX (the Education Article) of the California Constitution.
“We were pleased to finally have our case heard by the court of appeal and gratified that the court expanded the amount of time allowed for this important case,” CSBA General Counsel and Education Legal Alliance Director Keith Bray said.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2010 by CSBA’s ELA, nine school districts, the California PTA, the Association of California School Administrators and 60 individual plaintiffs, and has been combined with a second lawsuit, makes two claims:
• The state of California operates a school finance system that prevents schools and school districts from providing all students access to an education that satisfies their fundamental interest in being prepared to obtain economic security and participate in our democratic institutions.
• The state is violating its duty to “provide for” a system of common schools and to “keep up and support” the system it has established.
The trial court ruled in November 2011 that the state constitution does not guarantee a right to a qualitative education for “any specific funding system.” CSBA and the plaintiffs appealed.
The oral arguments heard last week in the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco focused extensively on the meaning of the Education Article in the state constitution and the constitutional standard to be applied. Attorneys for the plaintiffs commented that the court was very engaged and had obviously given substantial thought to the issues.
The Court of Appeal has 90 days to decide whether to remand the case back to the Superior Court for trial.
“We remain optimistic that the court will affirm the state's obligation to provide an adequate education for California's students,” Bray said.
Read a summary of the Robles-Wong lawsuit on CSBA’s website.
For more about CSBA’s advocacy work related to adequate funding, read the press release about the new report published by CSBA: “California’s Challenge — Adequately Funding Education in the 21st Century.”