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Adequacy Lawsuits:
Their Growing Impact on American Education
October 13-14, 2005
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
As of January 2005, lawsuits challenging the adequacy of state finance
were in various stages of litigation in more than 20 states. The outcomes
of these cases can be expected to have a major impact on American
education in coming years. What will that impact be?
Existing research on adequacy suits is limited and therefore provides little guidance. Yet the consequences of
equity lawsuits, from which adequacy lawsuits have evolved, are well known. Although equity lawsuits caused spending differences between districts to decline
dramatically, far less progress was made toward reducing the equally large
student achievement gap, and overall performance remained
essentially stagnant. This calls for a critical assessment of the
adequacy movement's potential for reducing disparities in American education.
PEPG asked scholars from several disciplines to prepare papers on
topics ranging from the historical origins of education clauses in state
constitutions to the implementation of recent adequacy judgments and their
impact on spending levels and student outcomes. The conference also
brought together participants in several recent adequacy cases with
divergent views of the adequacy movement's potential. Our hope is that
the gathering provided useful guidance to advocates and policymakers
intent on improving American education.
Conference Agenda • Conference Papers
Participant Biographies • Participant Contact Information
Registrant Contact Information
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