Yesterday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued its fifth ruling in the decades-long Leandro lawsuit. Among other considerable impacts, this opinion vacates the 2022 ruling ordering the transfer of $1.75 billion to our public schools. While significant, the Leandro V ruling does not change our constitutional obligation to fully fund our public schools.
What’s in the Leandro V Ruling?
(Legal analysis by Ann McColl, for EdNC)
The North Carolina Supreme Court, in a 4-3 opinion, brought an end to the Leandro litigation with no possibility to address procedural flaws identified by the court. It also ruled that the 2022 Supreme Court Leandro IV ruling was void with no binding legal effect. In the opinion written by Chief Justice Paul Newby and joined by Justices Philip Berger, Jr., Tamara Barringer, and Trey Allen, the court focused solely on procedural issues, not the substantive constitutional right to education.
Where does this leave Leandro or other constitutional claims? The first ruling in this litigation, Leandro v. State, established the constitutional right to access the opportunity to a sound basic education, based on provisions in the North Carolina Constitution. That right, as provided in the constitution and interpreted by the court, remains.
The Leandro V decision does not preclude the possibility of other claims of constitutional violations of the right to a sound, basic education, but it does make it more difficult. Read more of Ann’s analysis here.
What Does this Mean for Our Students and Schools?
(Full Statement from the Public School Forum of NC)
North Carolina’s students have for too long borne the consequences of ongoing disinvestment in their schools. This ruling further delays action to ensure that students across our state have access to the educational opportunities that they deserve. But it does not change the underlying principle that has guided this case since 1994. As stated by the Public School Forum’s Incoming President and CEO Dr. Tony Jackson, “The North Carolina Constitution guarantees every child the opportunity to receive a sound, basic education. This ruling does not change what we know our students need in order to thrive: well-prepared, supported teachers, effective school leadership, access to high-quality instructional materials and adequate resources for all students, and safe and affirming school spaces.”
Concerning the work ahead, Public School Forum Interim President and CEO Dr. Lauren Fox confirms that the fight for our students and school communities will continue.
“Ensuring adequate funding for North Carolina’s public school students is not a partisan issue– it’s a constitutional one, and the responsibility before us is just as clear as it was before. North Carolina law expressly states that it is the General Assembly’s responsibility to provide the resources necessary for every child to have access to a sound basic education,” states Fox. “The latest ruling does not change that reality, nor the reality that our state is not meeting that responsibility. We are 50th in the country in per-student funding, to the detriment of our children, communities, and our state’s overall wellbeing. Our students need and deserve our full and enduring commitment to great schools for all – not just good schools for a few, and the Forum remains steadfastly committed to realizing this goal.”
Across the state, we are seeing the consequences of decades-long underfunding of our public schools play out in local school budget fights. As municipal and county governments strain to fill the budget gaps left by our General Assembly, the need for fully-funded schools for all has never been more apparent.
“The majority’s decision to absolve the State of its solemn obligation to provide opportunities for a sound basic education in a uniform system of public education, and arguably when a remedy is needed most, is one more adversity our schoolchildren will have to face bravely. It is with those schoolchildren in mind, and with enduring hope that an independent and impartial judiciary will one day again fulfill its own obligations to protect the constitutional education rights of all schoolchildren and to check the State when it fails to do the same, I dissent.”
–Justice Anita Earls
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