Journal Article

The Spirit of Serrano Past, Present, and Future

Dayton, John, Dupre, Anne Proffitt

2006

Overview

A decades-long school funding revolution continues in the United States. The litigation sparked by the Supreme Court of California's 1971 decision in \"Serrano v. Priest\" continues to reshape the legal, political, and educational landscape in the United States, affecting the lives of children, parents, educators, and taxpayers throughout the nation. \"Serrano\"-inspired lawsuits have transformed school funding policies nationwide, resulting in billions of dollars in new funding and a notable redistribution of resources among school districts. \"Serrano\"-inspired litigation has changed public schools in many states to a degree second only to the transformation that followed \"Brown v. Board of Education.\" To understand school funding litigation in the present and to better anticipate future developments, a review of the past, present, and likely future of school funding litigation is invaluable. This article briefly reviews and discusses the past, present, and likely future of \"Serrano\"-inspired school funding litigation. (Contains 85 footnotes.)

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Subject: Abbott v Burke / Accountability / Brown v Board of Education / California / Children / Court Litigation / Economically Disadvantaged / Education legislation / Educational Finance / Educational reform / Federal Legislation / Funding / Law schools / Litigation / No Child Left Behind Act 2001 / Plaintiffs / Public Schools / Robinson v Cahill / Rodriguez v San Antonio Independent School Dist / Rose v Council for Better Education / Rural Schools / School Districts / Serrano v Priest / State schools / United States / Urban Schools