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• Georgia governor questions legality of districts funding finance suit [HTML 3,206kb]
  Gov. Sonny Perdue has asked Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker for a legal opinion on the legality of local school districts using taxpayer dollars to fund a lawsuit against the state over education funding, reports the Cedartown Standard.
  
• Senate bailout bill would restore timber funding for rural schools [HTML 1,727kb]
  An Associated Press story in the Seattle Times reports that a financial rescue plan approved by the Senate includes a plan to extend a program that pays rural counties hurt by federal logging cutbacks.
  
• FCC seeks comments on oversight of E-Rate program [HTML 2,376kb]
  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a Notice of Inquiry on proposed measures to strengthen the management, administration, and oversight of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF), how to define its goals more clearly, and to identify any additional quantifiable performance measures that may be necessary or desirable.
  
• Milwaukee school board votes to dissolve school district [HTML 3,732kb]
  Following a 6-3 vote by the Milwaukee School Board to explore the dissolving of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Governor Jim Doyle has called for “a complete evaluation of exactly where MPS is” as a first step toward any action by state government to do more for Milwaukee schools or change the way the school system is run, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  
• New Jersey supreme court again considers school funding scheme [HTML 4,133kb]
  The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the New Jersey Supreme Court has heard arguments in the litigation over whether the state’s new method of doling out support to public schools should be upheld.
  
• House votes to pull plug on "Secure Rural Schools" program [HTML 2,777kb]
  The Associated Press reports that the House of Representatives has rejected a Senate-backed measure extending a multiyear program of payments to rural counties hurt by federal logging cutbacks.
  
• Tennessee school boards weigh in on four-day week, fiscal independence [HTML 4,355kb]
  As part of a legislative survey to guide its advocacy, the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) is asking school board members across the state to indicate if they would be in favor of changes in Tennessee law to implement four-day school days by lengthening the school day to about eight hours, the Kingsport Times-News reports.
  
• Arizona appeals Ninth Circuit ruling on ELL students to U.S. Supreme Court [HTML 2,305kb]
  Education Week reports that the Arizona legislature has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Flores v. Arizona rejecting the state legislature’s 2006 effort to comply with an eight year old U.S. District Court order for adequate funding of English Language Learner (ELL) programs.
  
• Court upholds Arizona exit exams in school funding challenge [HTML 3,420kb]
  The Yuma Sun reports that Arizona judge Judge John Buttrick has rejected a suit seeking to block the state from using the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test as a requirement for graduation.
  
• FCC considers expanding technology eligible for E-rate funding [HTML 831kb]
  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks comment on whether the following services should be eligible for funding under the E-rate program, which supports technology in schools and libraries: filtering software, a broader classification of basic telephone service, dark fiber, text messaging, firewall service, anti-virus/anti-spam software, scheduling services, telephone broadcast messaging, and certain wireless Internet access applications.
  
• Maryland court orders misleading slot machine ballot language revised [HTML 2,818kb]
  A state court has ruled that the proposed ballot language for Maryland’s November's slot-machine referendum is “misleading,” reports the Baltimore Sun. However, the panel of judges concluded the error could be fixed by adding a single word to clarify that state education programs are not the sole recipients of anticipated revenues.
  
• Funding equity lawsuit charges Illinois system unfair to minority students [HTML 2,565kb]
  The Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Urban League (CUL) has filed a lawsuit in state court against Illinois and the State Board of Education alleging the Illinois education funding system is unconstitutional because it discriminates against African-American and Hispanic students.
  
• Illinois funding formula to address emergency closings [HTML 1,688kb]
  The News-Gazette of Urbana reports that Illinois has enacted a law that will guarantee that schools forced to close because of health or safety emergencies, such as a death threat or a tornado, will not lose a portion of their state aid because of that missed day.
  
• Florida “tax swap” ballot amendment struck down [HTML 2,914kb]
  Tallahassee’s CBS4.com reports that a Florida circuit court judge has ruled than an amendment proposal that would swap property tax cuts for increases in other taxes should be taken off the November ballot.
  
• Georgia school funding suit to go to trial [HTML 2,176kb]
  The Athens Banner-Herald reports that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Long has denied the state's motion to dismiss lawsuit charging the state with spending too little on education.
  
• NJ lawsuit seeks to halt state borrowing for new school construction [HTML 3,302kb]
  According to the Newark Star-Ledger, conservative activist and possible New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Steven Lonegan has filed a lawsuit challenging that state’s plan to borrow $3.9 billion to build dozens of new schools around the state.
  
• Elimination of school Medicaid reimbursements delayed [HTML 970kb]
  President Bush has signed a War Supplemental Appropriations Bill that includes a provision delaying the implementation of Medicaid regulations that would eliminate certain transportation and administration reimbursements to schools for services provided to low-income students with disabilities.
  
• PA’s increase in basic school funding to be distributed to districts based on adequacy formula [HTML 4,221kb]
  As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania’s Gov. Ed Rendell has signed a state budget that includes an increase in basic education funding, which represents the largest dollar increase in the program since 1991.
  
• GA seeks dismissal of school funding suit [HTML 2,351kb]
  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia is seeking dismissal of a suit brought in 2004 by a group of 51 mostly rural school districts that alleges a lack of state money has caused low student achievement.
  
• Memphis City Council counter sues district over debt-service bonds [HTML 3,366kb]
  Last month the Memphis City Schools (MCS) filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis because the city council voted to cut $66.2 million from the district's operating budget.
  
• 2005 Kansas supreme court ruling on school funding pays off [HTML 2,576kb]
  The Topeka Capitol-Journal reports that after the 2005 Kansas Supreme Court ruling mandating a giant increase in school funding, the Tecumseh school district was one of the numerous districts that added or expanded their all-day kindergarten programs.
  
• Memphis scene of showdown over school funding [HTML 3,254kb]
  The Memphis Daily News reports that after the Memphis City Council voted 10-3 to cut city funding to the city school system by about $70 million, Memphis City Schools filed a lawsuit against the City of Memphis.
  
• Lawsuit claims Alabama property tax caps racially discriminatory [HTML 3,151kb]
  In a case that could have far-reaching consequences for Alabama's education and tax system, parents in two Black Belt counties have sued the state in federal court, claiming caps on property taxes are a form of racial discrimination that prevents their children from receiving an adequate education.
  
• U.S. Supreme Court upholds municipal bond tax exemption [HTML 1,859kb]
  The $2.5 trillion municipal bond market skirted a land mine Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that states could continue to give special tax breaks on the bonds that fund hospitals, roads, schools and other services.
  
• Strings attached to California state funding impede school board flexibility [HTML 2,511kb]
  The decisions forced upon local school districts by a potential 10% cut in California’s education spending aren't the product of local administrators' priorities but of a thicket of school funding laws that dictate how state and federal money gets spent.
  
• Alaska increases funding for rural schools and disabled students [HTML 1,817kb]
  Gov. Sarah Palin and state lawmakers have gone ahead with an overhaul of Alaska’s school funding system that supporters predict will provide much-needed financial help to rural schools and those serving students with disabilities.
  
• Ninth Circuit refuses to reconsider its ruling in Arizona’s ELL funding suit [HTML 3,003kb]
  Next stop in the legal battle over the state's English-learner program: The U.S. Supreme Court. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said that in the wake of a denial from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he intends to take the case to the nation's top court.
  
• U.S House votes against Medicaid cuts [HTML 1,552kb]
  A veto-proof majority of the U.S. House voted to block seven Medicaid regulations issued by the Bush administration that would cut federal payments to states by $33 billion during the next decade.
  
• Latest Arizona ELL funding bill becomes law without gov’s signature [HTML 4,055kb]
  Gov. Janet Napolitano let a bill that allocates an additional $40 million for English instruction become law without her signature Monday, expressing concern that the state still has unfinished business on the matter.
  
• Passage of Nebraska school finance legislation ends lawsuit [HTML 4,170kb]
  The five-year court battle over school finance drew to a quick end after a series of events that included a new state aid system being established and the Omaha Public Schools (OPS) declaring that Nebraska is giving new attention to disadvantaged students.
  
• Michigan districts look to pool employee health benefits, other costs [HTML 2,593kb]
  A parent group from western Fairfax County announced that it is seeking a legal order to reverse a School Board decision to reroute thousands of students among five high schools in coming years.
  
• NY commission charged with developing property tax cap [HTML 6,015kb]
  Thomas R. Suozzi can understand people's skepticism about a new statewide commission charged with finding a way to cap property taxes.
  
• Federal attempts to shift Medicaid costs threaten schools [HTML 4,722kb]
  A planned cut in Medicaid funding could cost Florida’s Pasco County School District about $1.2 million, district officials say.
  
• Federal attempts to shift Medicaid costs threaten schools [HTML 4,680kb]
  A planned cut in Medicaid funding could cost Florida’s Pasco County School District about $1.2 million, district officials say.
  
• Utah state board of education urges veto of spending, NCLB bills [HTML 3,307kb]
  The Utah State Board of Education has urged Governor Jon M. Huntsman to veto a bill requiring outside approval for expensive federal programs and to look at exercising line-item veto power over the school's $2.5 billion budget.
  
• Collapse of auction-rate bond market affects some school districts [HTML 2,732kb]
  California, Florida schools, and the owner of John F. Kennedy International Airport joined a growing list of municipal borrowers exiting the U.S. auction-rate bond market as record failures push taxpayer costs higher.
  
• New Jersey high court: No deadline for construction funds [HTML 2,777kb]
  The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to set a deadline for state government to provide money to continue a court-mandated program to upgrade school facilities.
  
• N.H. again considers constitutional amendment over school funding [HTML 2,321kb]
  Handing a victory to New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment on education funding.
  
• Ninth Circuit: Arizona ELL funding not compliant [HTML 4,544kb]
  A federal appeals panel has ruled that English-language instruction law is so flawed that it "may well retard or reverse whatever progress has been" made in the instruction of more than 134,000 Arizona children who are struggling to learn English.
  
• Montana school advocates seek court answer on funding [HTML 3,496kb]
  A petition filed in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County seeks an answer from the State of Montana about whether court mandates pertaining to funding for education have been satisfied.
  
• Ohio high court gas pipeline ruling a relief to school districts [HTML 1,684kb]
  The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. to reduce the property taxes the natural gas pipeline company pays to local governments and local school districts in the counties where it has operations in Ohio.
  
• Kindergarten fees raise legal questions in several states [HTML 4,435kb]
  Oregon lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow school districts to continue charging fees for full-day kindergarten—in light of the state attorney general’s recent ruling that said districts don’t have authority under state law to collect the tuition.
  
• Virginia may study giving school boards power to levy taxes [HTML 3,197kb]
  A few bills introduced in this year's General Assembly by delegates of both parties aim to resurrect the contentious issue of whether elected school boards in Virginia should have the power to levy taxes.
  
• Florida property tax measure likely to hit school budgets; eyes on state [HTML 4,013kb]
  Florida voters have given their resounding approval to a constitutional amendment that overhauls the state's property tax laws and saves the average homeowner $240 a year.
  
• Study says poor districts get less funding [HTML 2,679kb]
  In most states, school districts with the most low-income students or the most minority students get the least public funding, a new report by the Education Trust, a Washington D.C.-based education think tank, says.
  
• Connecticut education leaders give state lawmakers an earful [HTML 3,829kb]
  Danbury, Connecticut area educators have criticized state legislators in a meeting for passing laws without considering the cost to school districts.
  
• California state officials propose big education agendas, little money [HTML 5,358kb]
  Even though California schools could lose millions in funding next year, the state's education system can be improved through streamlined preschool and other low-cost efforts to close the achievement gap, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell says.
  
• CMS eliminates payment for school-based administrative and transportation activities [HTML 1,502kb]
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) of the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule eliminating federal Medicaid payment for the cost of certain school-based administrative and transportation activities.
  
• Wyoming Supreme Court rules state funding system constitutional [HTML 1,918kb]
  The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s system of funding public education meets its state constitutional duty to provide a “thorough and efficient education.”
  
• Georgia House Speaker pushes to end property taxes [HTML 4,707kb]
  Drop it and they will come. Those six words could serve as the motto for Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson and his followers who are pushing to end property taxes in the Peach State.
  
• Judge will make North Carolina pay public schools an estimated $700 million [HTML 2,344kb]
  Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning has indicated he will make the State of North Carolina pay public schools an estimated $700 million in revenue collected from civil penalties over part of a five-year period.
  
• South Dakota's school-aid formula has cost almost $1 million to defend [HTML 3,104kb]
  A lawsuit over South Dakota's school-aid formula has cost almost $1 million to defend so far, Gov. Mike Rounds says. Rounds told legislators during his budget message that the lawsuit, brought by a group of parents of school children, has cost $948,750.
  
• Court suggests parties in Arizona's battle over English-language instruction try mediation [HTML 4,421kb]
  Warring factions in Arizona’s legal battle over English-language instruction went to court looking for resolution?and got a suggestion that they hold their own peace talks on the controversial matter.
  
• Coalition of California school districts sues state over finances [HTML 2,817kb]
  A coalition of California school districts has filed suit against the state, saying lawmakers have used schools like a credit card for years by charging up a $1 billion debt that is long overdue.
  
• Arizona Republicans seek to overturn ruling on changes to English Language Learning programs [HTML 4,848kb]
  Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders in Arizona are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals to overturn a trial judge's ruling last March that changes made to Arizona's English Language Learning programs and funding don't satisfy a 1974 federal mandate for equal educational opportunities for English-learning students.
  
• School districts prepare to file suit against county over $30 million loss from sales tax cut [HTML 2,303kb]
  Monroe County, New York’s, suburban school districts are prepared to file a lawsuit against the county over its plans to cut districts' sales tax revenue in half to pay Medicaid costs, which translates to a loss of $30 million annually for the school districts.
  
• E-Rate fraud [HTML 2,284kb]
  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a final rule regarding measures to safeguard the Universal Service Fund (USF) from waste, fraud, and abuse.
  
• Florida Supreme Court revises recent ruling requiring voter approval for two types of borrowing [HTML 3,271kb]
  The Florida Supreme Court has revised its recent ruling requiring counties to obtain voter approval for two types of borrowing. The high court made it clear the referendum requirement applies only to future and not existing tax increment financed bonds.
  
• School districts cannot make parents pay for all-day kindergarten [HTML 3,637kb]
  Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has issued an opinion that school districts cannot make parents pay for all-day kindergarten.
  
• Missouri state judge deals blow to a massive school funding lawsuit [HTML 2,883kb]
  A Missouri state judge has dealt yet another blow to a massive school funding lawsuit, saying he believes Missouri is exceeding a state constitutional obligation to spend 25% of its budget on education.
  
• Columbus, Ohio, mayoral candidate claims school district is shortchanging students [HTML 2,460kb]
  Columbus, Ohio, Republican mayoral candidate William M. Todd has filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of five taxpayers against the Columbus school board, the Ohio Department of Education, the state Board of Education, and state schools Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman, claiming the school district is shortchanging some of its students.
  
• $3.2 million loss in state funding for California district [HTML 2,353kb]
  California’s Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) has announced it will lose $3.2 million in state funding because it overstated the number of special education students enrolled in its summer school programs.
  
• Florida Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize new school construction [HTML 2,439kb]
  A recent Florida Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize how school districts pay for new construction. The ruling basically ruled it was unconstitutional for Escambia County to commit future property-tax revenues to paying off a road-widening project without a countywide referendum.
  
• Medicaid reimbursement [HTML 2,295kb]
  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that would eliminate federal Medicaid payments for administrative activities performed by school districts and transportation from home to school and back for school-aged children with individualized education programs (IEPs) established pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
  
• Arkansas report: $170 million a year spent on services to immigrants [HTML 2,503kb]
  A report prepared for Arkansas legislators concludes the state spends $170 million a year on services to immigrants, including about $154 million for education.
  
• Massachusetts district eliminates athletics after voters reject property tax increase [HTML 1,778kb]
  Voters in Stoneham, Massachusetts rejected a $3 million property tax increase, which resulted in the Stoneham School Committee (SSC) eliminating all 54 coaching positions, the athletic director's job, and the elementary and middle school arts and music programs.
  
• Texas school districts challenging finance system awarded $4.2 million in legal fees [HTML 2,782kb]
  Hundreds of Texas school districts that successfully challenged Texas’ school finance system have scored a follow-up victory when a state appeals court awarded them $4.2 million in legal fees.
  
• New Hampshire set to meet deadline for defining adequate education [HTML 2,984kb]
  The State of New Hampshire is set to meet a court-ordered July 1 deadline for defining an adequate education, after lawmakers agreed to a compromise proposal.
  
• New Hampshire amendment to target school aid fails to pass [HTML 3,697kb]
  A proposed state constitutional amendment that would have given New Hampshire more flexibility to target school aid to the neediest communities has failed to pass in the state Senate by one vote.
  
• Idaho districts sue Idaho’s supreme court justices [HTML 4,123kb]
  A group of school districts has taken the unprecedented step of suing Idaho’s supreme court justices in federal court for ruling in favor of the districts in a school funding lawsuit but not providing any fix.
  
• Coalition of Kentucky school districts drops finance lawsuit [HTML 2,051kb]
  A coalition of Kentucky school districts is dropping a lawsuit designed to force state lawmakers to spend more money on schools. The Council for Better Education (CBE) filed a suit in 2003 against the state, claiming funding of Kentucky's schools is “inadequate and arbitrarily determined by the legislature.”
  
• South Dakota Attorney General calls for audit of districts challenging state finance system [HTML 3,176kb]
  South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long is calling for a state audit of about 70 school districts and the South Dakota Coalition of Schools (SDCS) to determine whether they are illegally funding a lawsuit that challenges the state's school financing system.
  
• Arizona Supreme Court declines to hear appeal of lower court finance rulings [HTML 649kb]
  On April 17, 2007, the Arizona Supreme Court declined without comment to hear an appeal of lower court rulings against school districts whose lawsuit demanded that the state provide more money for educating poor children.
  
• Houston Independent School District posts its check registries online [HTML 2,782kb]
  Houston Independent School District (HISD) has become the latest Houston area school system to allow the world to see how much it pays architects, law firms, supply stores, and other vendors by posting its check registries online.
  
• Judge throws out lawsuit brought by Indiana State Teacher Association over school finance [HTML 2,166kb]
  An Indiana state court judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the Indiana State Teacher Association (ISTA) against the state over how much money is set aside for schools, specifically for students who are poor, disabled, and learning English as a second language.
  
• Legislators struggle to meet the conflicting demands of residents [HTML 4,501kb]
  It’s difficult to have both lower property taxes and local control of schools, as legislators around the nation are discovering as they struggle to meet the conflicting demands of residents who want both the best for their children and the most for their money.
  
• Trial begins in Missouri in suit challenging state’s public school financing scheme [HTML 3,598kb]
  Trial has begun in a Missouri state court in a suit brought by the Committee for Educational Equality (CEE) challenging the state’s public school financing scheme.
  
• Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in Zuni Public School District No. 89 v. Department of Education [HTML 2,809kb]
  The Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in Zuni Public School District No. 89 v. Department of Education, Docket No. 05-1508, a case in which two New Mexico school districts contend that their federal impact aid payments are being unfairly usurped by their state under federal regulations for the program.
  
• District sues State of Washington, saying school finance system is unconstitutional [HTML 2,864kb]
  Federal Way School District has sued the State of Washington, saying the state’s formulas for school funding are unconstitutional and unfair.
  
• School districts in six states have been targeted with sweeping public records requests [HTML 4,527kb]
  School districts and local governments in six states have been targeted with sweeping public records requests from groups touting private property rights and limited government initiatives.
  
• Coalition of 13 Washington state school districts asks court to throw out the state's system of financing special education [HTML 2,464kb]
  A coalition of 13 school districts in the state of Washington has asked a state court to throw out the state's system of financing special education, saying more than 120,000 students are being shortchanged by Olympia.
  
• Supreme court grants review in New Mexico school finance case [HTML 2,129kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in Zuni Public School District No. 89 v. Department of Education, No. 05-1508, a case involving a challenge by the Gallup-McKinley County and Zuni school districts to New Mexico's public school funding formula and how it treats federal impact aid.
  
• Monroe County, New York intercepts public schools funds to pay for county Medicaid costs [HTML 2,237kb]
  Monroe County, New York has successfully sued all 54 government entities, including the public school systems, with which it shares the county sales tax revenue to shift that revenue to pay for county Medicaid costs.
  
• Pennsylvania legislation requires districts to form tax study commissions [HTML 3,067kb]
  As part of Pennsylvania’s new taxpayer relief legislation, school districts are required to form tax study commissions made up of five, seven, or nine residents.
  
• Court rejects Oklahoma Education Association's suit challenging the state’s school funding scheme [HTML 2,835kb]
  An Oklahoma district court has rejected a school funding suit brought by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) against the State of Oklahoma challenging the state’s school funding scheme.
  
• Appeals court hears oral arguments in Arizona English language learner case [HTML 2,975kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has heard oral arguments in appeal by the State of Arizona of a federal district court's ruling that the state legislature's latest effort to fund English language learner (ELL) programs violates the state constitution's requirement to provide students with an adequate education.
  
• Many warn against Idaho finance plan using sales tax to fund education [HTML 2,153kb]
  School administrators, school board leaders, and some parents are warning against a new Idaho finance plan that would fund education through an increased sales tax, as opposed to property tax.
  
• Illinois State Board of Education demands that school district return grant money [HTML 2,176kb]
  The Illinois State Board of Education (IBOE) is demanding that West Harvey-Dixmoor Elementary School District 147 (WHDESD) return more than $2.2 million in federal and state grants, after an investigation concluded the money was either unaccounted for or misspent.
  
• Government leaders press California Public Employees' Retirement System to create fund for future retiree health benefits [HTML 2,440kb]
  Motivated by a change in accounting rules, city and county government leaders are pressing California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to set up a fund in which their agencies would annually invest tens of millions of new dollars to cover future health benefits for retirees.
  
• New Jersey school districts seek to share services [HTML 4,234kb]
  In an effort to stretch their financial resources, some New Jersey school districts are seeking out neighboring districts to share services.
  
• New Jersey school board implements pay-to-participate extracurricular program [HTML 2,059kb]
  In response to a budget deficit, the East Brunswick, New Jersey school board has implemented a pay-to-participate program for athletics and extracurricular activities.
  
• Wyoming School Boards Association partially withdraws from finance suit [HTML 2,713kb]
  The Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) has partially withdrawn from the long-standing school finance lawsuit against the state after the Wyoming legislature provided enough funding to significantly raise teacher pay and improve instruction.
  
• Pennsylvania enacts law requiring voter approval to raise property taxes beyond inflation [HTML 3,745kb]
  Pennsylvania has enacted a law that requires local school boards to obtain voter approval to raise property taxes beyond the rate of inflation.