When policy advocates debate how best to ensure equity in public education funding, the topic of teacher pension reform rarely comes up. But, in fact, pensions represent a very large and fast-growing source of education spending, much of it distributed in ways that are, in a number of states, anything but equitable. When states subsidize teacher…

Public funding of private K-12 schooling through vouchers continues to be a contentious issue across the U.S., even though a solid majority of Americans continues to oppose them. The voucher plans run the risk of legal challenge for how they handle the rights of students with disabilities and whether they violate state constitutional provisions…

The lesson of Serrano will be the lesson of social policy in general: government can allocate resources but it cannot specify results. Serrano and its predecessors were aimed at promoting better education for needy districts and are likely to equalize spending with no systematic effect on educational outcomes. (Author/IRT)

Addresses significant components of Connecticut's new education finance law: the guaranteed tax base, educational need, the minimum expenditure requirement, and educational equity. (Author/IRT)

The clear and unavoidable conclusion is that achieving equality is less important than maintaining inequality. Class inequality by school district is highly valued in American education. Unequal taxes will continue to finance unequal schools. That is how we finance schools in America. (Author)

Describes the failure to raise adequate school revenues through equitable means and the inability to allocate resources in an effective and equitable manner. (Author)

Summarizes 16 state court decisions in 15 states concerning equity in statewide school finance systems, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez" decision. Finds that some state legislatures and courts reformed their finance systems, while others let inequalities continue. (RW)