Discussion Post: Legal Brief
In 1988, in Louisiana Association of Educators v. Edward, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the Legislature has the exclusive authority to determine how much money would be appropriated for the public education system and that the school funding formula, developed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, provides for the equitable distribution of the money the Legislature chooses to appropriate.
In Berry v. Pastorek in 2011, the U.S. District Court denied the State defendants' motion to dismiss. Plaintiffs had claimed that as a result of education "reform" in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, thousands of students with disabilities were not receiving an education, in violation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), Rehabilitation Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The parties negotiated a Consent Judgment, which the Court approved in 2015. Implementation is ongoing.
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