Georgia Court Rules Adequacy Lawsuit Must Be Heard
Senior Judge Elizabeth Long of Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta has ruled in Consortium for Adequate School Funding v. State that the school funding case against the State of Georgia must proceed. Her October 28, 2005 order denied the state's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claim that the state is violating its own constitution's education provision because it is not providing an adequate education to many of its students.
Joe Martin, Executive Director of the plaintiff Consortium, praised the ruling as “a major breakthrough in our case.” Looking forward, he also said that “Although the State may appeal the ruling, we are ready to move to the next step in our quest to ensure that all of Georgia's children are receiving the education they need and deserve.”
As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox stated, "We're disappointed in today's ruling and will continue to defend our current funding formula."
In her ruling, Judge Long granted the state's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claim that students “are denied an equal opportunity for an adequate education in violation of the equal protection provision of the Georgia Constitution.” However, she concluded that “the question of whether the state has met its constitutional mandate to provide an adequate education is a factual issue to be decided on an evidentiary record.”
The Consortium for Adequate
School Funding in Georgia, a coalition of 51 of the state's 180
school districts, along with individual students and parents and individual
districts, filed the suit against the State in September 2004. The
suit is based on the education article of the Georgia Constitution,
which states: “The provisions of an adequate public education for the
citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia. Public
education for the citizens prior to college or postsecondary level
shall be free and shall be provided by taxation . . .”
Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, November 1, 2005
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