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92 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 2169 (2017)
Educational Opportunity for All: Reducing Intradistrict Funding Disparities

handle is hein.journals/nylr92 and id is 2207 raw text is: EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL: REDUCING INTRADISTRICT FUNDING DISPARITIES LAUREN A. WEBB* It is a common refrain in American education that the quality of a student's education should not depend on his or her zip code. Yet American public educa- tion consistently falls short: Many schools and districts, in particular those with large populations of low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) and minority students, do not receive the funding necessary to provide their students with educational oppor- tunities equal to those in wealthier schools. Plaintiffs in many states have sought to improve educational equity by using litigation to attack disparities in funding between districts. However, intradistrict inequity-the inequitable funding of schools within the same district-has persisted throughout the United States to the detriment of low-SES students around the country. This Note argues that these funding disparities can and should be addressed through both courts and policy changes. Students, families, and other parties harmed by intradistrict funding dis- parities should use state courts and state constitutions' education clauses to extend previous interdistrict school funding victories and to force policymakers to imple- ment more equitable intradistrict funding. Policymakers should implement school funding policies that promote comprehensive equity and take into account relevant student characteristics, including low socioeconomic status. These policies should promote comprehensive equity by providing all schools with base funding sufficient to give each student an adequate education and by distributing any funding beyond that amount equitably across schools in accordance with their students' characteristics. INTRODUCTION .................................................. 2170 I. THE FAILURE OF SCHOOL FUNDING TO PROMOTE EQUITY .................................................. 2175 A. Interstate and Interdistrict Funding Inequity ......... 2177 B. Persisting Intradistrict Funding Disparities .......... 2178 1. O hio ............................................ 2179 2. Indianapolis, Indiana ........................... 2180 C. How Intradistrict Inequity Develops ................. 2181 II. PREviOus EFFORTS TO IMPROVE SCHOOL FUNDING E QUITY .................................................. 2185 A. Interdistrict Litigation ............................... 2185 * Copyright © 2017 by Lauren A. Webb. J.D., 2017, New York University School of Law; B.A., 2014, Emory University. I would like to thank Professor Paulette Caldwell, my Note Editors Stephen Hylas and Neelofer Shaikh, and the editorial staff of the N.Y. U. Law Review for their helpful feedback and encouragement throughout this process. I would also like to express my eternal gratitude to my dear high school English teacher, Mrs. Alison Poindexter, and my AnBryce family, who together provided me with every educational opportunity imaginable. 2169 Imaged with Permission of N.Y.U. Law Review

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