San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973) 50th Anniversary: Exploring the Link Between School Funding and Segregation
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court school funding case, San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), this NCSD and IDRA Twitter chat aims to spark a conversation around the link between school funding and segregation. The Rodriguez case primarily held that Texas’ school finance system, based on property taxes, did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, despite producing stark inequities in funding between districts. The Rodriguez Court made two other important findings: that education is not a “fundamental right” under the U.S. Constitution, nor is a person’s income status a protected class.
Today, policies that tie funding levels to local property taxes remain a standard practice. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in FY20, nearly half (44.9%) of all U.S. public school revenue came from local funding, comprised mainly of property taxes. Since Rodriguez, however, state-level school finance litigation and policy reforms have caused shifts in the landscape over the last 50 years. Have these efforts successfully addressed the concerns at issue in Rodriguez?
To what extent does continued reliance on local property taxes systematically deny students living in areas of concentrated poverty equitable and/or adequate school funding? What would it take for all children to have access to diverse, well-resourced schools? What are the barriers to making this a reality? These are just a few of the questions we’ll explore during the chat.
#RodriguezAt50 Twitter Chat – Join us at @diverse_schools on Monday, March 20, 2023 at 1:00pm ET