An epic struggle for equal opportunity.

• Author: Rom, Alan Jay
• Position: Education - Case examines equality in education, Massachusetts

In what could be a watershed case for the rest of the country, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court--fresh off its pro same-sex marriage ruling that ignited a constitutional furor--may force the Commonwealth to ante up millions of dollars to ensure that poor school districts receive equitable funding.

LIKE MOST STATES, Massachusetts relies heavily on local property taxes to raise revenue for education. Because property values vary widely across municipalities, such reliance has yielded uneven school funding. Localities with low property values typically require supplemental funding sources to accumulate the money required to administer effective schools. Students who face diminished economic and social opportunities because they attend underfunded schools have brought suit against the Commonwealth to motivate needed reforms in school finance policies.

While the original litigation dates back 25 years, plaintiff schoolchildren won a significant victory in 1993 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) declared in McDuffy v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Education that the state has a duty tinder its Constitution "to provide an education in the public schools for the children them enrolled, whether they be rich or poor and without regard to the fiscal capacity of the community or district in which such children live." Drawing on a 1989 Kentucky Supreme Court decision, Rose v. Council of Better Education, the SJC established broad guidelines to assist with the development of a constitutional school financing system. The Court ordered Massachusetts to educate all of its children.

Since McDuffy, Massachusetts has implemented education reforms to improve student performance and diminish funding discrepancies across school districts. Just three days after the decision was issued, the governor signed into law the Education Reform Act (ERA), emergency legislation that dramatically increased the Commonwealth's obligations to provide and implement elementary and secondary education. Massachusetts promulgated "curriculum frameworks" describing resources required to achieve specific teaching goals in seven subject areas that roughly correspond to the McDuffy capabilities (English Language Arts: Mathematics: Science and Technology/ Engineering: History and Social Science: Comprehensive Health; the Arts; and Foreign Languages). The state also has increased education spending, heightened teacher certification requirements, and created a statewide standardized test system. Despite these changes, many Massachusetts school districts remain unable to educate their students sufficiently.

Seeking relief from the...