The U.S. District Court ruling in Rodriguez vs San Antonio Independent School District, which struck down Texas' school finance system as inequitable and unconstitutional, provided the impetus for publishing this interim report. The report documents the growing cost of State-supported public school programs--the primary concern prior to the…

According to the weighted pupil philosophy, the essence of equal educational opportunity is not in providing equal amounts of funds for the education of each child, but in providing the varying amounts of funds needed to insure a financial basis for giving each child an equal opportunity to obtain an education which meets his needs. This paper…

Published prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the case, this report puts into perspective the questions and problems before the State of Texas in resolving the issue raised by Rodriguez vs San Antonio. The document reviews the key elements of the decision in the Rodriguez case and considers alternative approaches that comply with the…

In describing how the present Texas school finance system actually works, this report considers the historical development of the finance system, provides a breakdown of how money is allocated among and between school districts, and examines the problem of who pays for the schools. The foundation program, other State aid, enrichment, and the…

This study examines the current Texas school finance plan, the finance plans and proposals of other states, national school finance research, and the results of a survey of Texas leaders and educators before presenting alternative revenue and distribution plans, their effects and costs, and possible revenue sources. The study was conducted under…

In this landmark educational finance opinion (presented here in full) the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Texas case was not a proper case in which to examine a State's laws under standards of strict judicial scrutiny. That test, according to the Court, is reserved for cases involving laws that operate to the disadvantage of suspect classes or…