In 1984, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed suit on behalf of poor districts against the Texas commissioner of education. In 1987, a state district court ruling struck down the Texas public school funding system. In 1989, the Texas Supreme Court upheld that the school finance system, based in part upon local district funds, was in violation of the state constitution. The state constitution requires that the state maintain an “efficient” system to achieve “general diffusion of knowledge” (Cárdenas, 1997).
Outcome – On November 14, 1989, the governor called a special session of the legislature for the purpose of resolving the school finance problem. In 1993, the current Texas school finance system was developed and ruled constitutional by the Texas Supreme Court in 1995.
Cárdenas, J.A. Texas School Finance Reform: An IDRA Perspective (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, 1997). http://www.idra.org/publications/
