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Marcia Oddi at The Indiana Law Blog reports that the Indiana Supreme Court has granted transfer in Joseph Bonner et al v. Mitch Daniels, the suit alleging that state officials have violated the Indiana Constitution by failing to provide adequate funding for all schools in the state.
The suit is attracting attention across the country. The Tax Foundation, best known for its high profile annual observance of "Tax Freedom Day," filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Indiana Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals decision. "The Education Clause guarantees a free public education, not the right to a 'quality' education," argues the foundation's counsel.
The Indiana State Teachers Association filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of nine children in eight Indiana school districts. Marion County Superior Court Judge Cale Bradford ruled that the suit improperly named the governor and state superintendent as defendants and dismissed the case in January. In May, the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling in May.
ISTA's Dan Clark told me at the time that the teacher's union hoped state officials would sit down with ISTA to resolve differences. The suit was filed before the General Assembly increased the sales tax and shifted all school General Fund costs to the state. The inadequate funding alleged in the suit will only be exacerbated by the changes, which will allow wealthy school districts to appeal to taxpayers for additional operating expenses and construction costs. In other words, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.
