Last week, President Bush announced a massive education relief plan for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Of the $2.6 billion education package, $1.9 billion will go directly to school districts (except in Louisiana and Mississippi), including charter schools enrolling at least 10 displaced children. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, passed in 1987, ensures that homeless students, or children who lose their homes in a natural disaster, have access to schools. School districts across the United States are stepping up to the task, accommodating more than 370,000 displaced students.
President Bush has also proposed $488 million to help with private or religious school tuition, with vouchers worth up to $7,500 given to displaced families for the 2005-06 school year. Nationally, about 11 percent of K-12 students are enrolled in private schools; but in four of Louisiana’s hardest-hit parishes (including New Orleans), almost one-third (61,000) of students attended local private schools − not a strong vote of confidence in the area’s government schools.
While the education establishment is praising proposed aid to public schools, they are balking at providing assistance to displaced families who chose private schools. Not surprisingly, Senator Edward Kennedy accused Bush of igniting a “partisan, political debate.” Kennedy went on to say, “These families need real relief, not ideological battles that threaten to slow down their recovery.” Some might say Bush’s plan does provide “real relief,” especially for those families whose choices fall outside the “government school” paradigm. I seriously doubt these parents are calling this proposal a “partisan political” ploy, as they try desperately to secure some degree of educational normalcy and stability for their children.
Meanwhile, another funding “storm” is brewing, this one involving the Leandro case in North Carolina. Last week, the “usual suspects” (those advocacy groups braying an incessant chorus of “more money”) filed a brief urging judicial intervention by Judge Manning. Specifically, these groups would like him to order the state to spend an additional $190 million annually on K-12 education.
In their brief, these organizations (including the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, among others) decried “the massive, documented failure of the executive and legislative branches to provide each child with his/her fundamental constitutional right to a sound basic education.” This kind of judicial involvement in school funding is nothing new − to date, 45 states have dealt with some form of school finance litigation. Will Judge Manning take the final step in judicial activism, ordering state educational spending? We may know soon: the next hearing in the case will take place on Oct. 25th.
While North Carolina’s funding lawsuit rages on, our neighboring state of Georgia could be the bellwether for some significant judicial developments. Three Atlanta parents have joined that state’s funding lawsuit, asking to have the public schools declared unconstitutional. Instead of more money, however, these parents want more choices for students in failing schools. While their chance for success seems slim, their case may be a sign of things to come. Will we see this kind of parent activism in North Carolina? Time will tell. In the meantime, keep your eyes on the courts.