RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — The North Carolina Supreme Court held oral arguments Thursday to determine the fate of a landmark education case that guarantees children a basic education.
Five school districts and families of their students sued the state in 1994 arguing their districts weren't getting enough funding to provide students with equal education.
The "Leandro" case, which gets its shorthand from the last name of a middle-school plaintiff, gave way to additional statewide funding for K-12 public schools, focused on employing qualified staff and providing adequate resources.
At nearly 30 years old, this is the fifth time it is in front of the Supreme Court, appealed now by Republican leaders who don’t believe the court has the power to make them allocate the funding.
The Supreme Court has ruled twice, once in 1997 and again in 2004, that students have a right to a “sound basic education” under the North Carolina constitution. In 2018, a third-party mediator was ordered to create an 8-year plan to resolve funding inequality and resolve educational issues. The plan was anticipated to cost $6.8 billion and last through 2028.
In 2021, a trial court ruled that state executives needed to move $1.75 billion out of the state treasury to cover unfunded Leandro expenses under a comprehensive remedial plan. The Supreme Court held in early 2022 that the state was responsible to fund the plan, but couldn't be ordered to do so. The Supreme Court met again for arguments in August of 2022, where they decided that the legislature must provide funding for the plan.
Several days after the Supreme Court issued their ruling in November 2022, the court flipped from a 4-3 Democrat majority to a Republican-controlled 5-2. The judges voted along party lines to rehear, with Republicans wanting to review the case with their new majority.
Leandro funding has been caught in political limbo as a superior court judge told legislators last April that they owe over $677 million to address lacking education during recent school years. The Hoke County plaintiffs say educational gaps are now worse than they were when the lawsuit began.
During the long session last year, GOP state legislators passed funding for universal private school vouchers in the state budget, almost tripling state spending on private education. An analysis conducted by the Office of State Budget and Management said that if half of the voucher recipients decide to enroll in private school, it could cost public schools over $200 million — and far more to pay for the cost of students already privately enrolled. Supporters of Leandro worry the vouchers are going to exacerbate issues in public schools as their funding sees cuts.
Senate President Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore sued in February 2023 to prevent the distribution of Leandro funds from the treasury, challenging the court’s authority to control the way the legislature allocates funding. The lawmakers also argued that the court should be restricted to focus only on Hoke County schools and that trial courts were outside of their jurisdiction in requiring state-wide public funding.
“What a sad moment in our history when legislative leaders ask the North Carolina Supreme Court to invalidate what a bipartisan court has affirmed for decades: the State Constitution gives our children the right to a sound basic education,” Democrat Governor Roy Cooper said.
Normally, appeals to Supreme Court rulings are filed within 30 days of their decision. The appeal in this case was filed several months later.
Protesters outside the courthouse Thursday morning speculated it was because the politicians were waiting for the court to flip.
“They waited to do this until they had the majority in the Supreme Court, and now they have it and they think they can win,” said Jen Sanders, a candidate for the Union County School Board who drove nearly three hours to get to the protest. “We’re not going to let them, we’re going to hold them accountable.”
