Court rejects reimbursement over unfunded school mandates
Blog by Mark Walsh/Education Week
Times are tough, a California appellate court says, and the judiciary cannot compel state lawmakers to come up with nearly $1 billion to reimburse unfunded education mandates imposed on school districts. But in a partial victory for school districts, a panel of the California Court of Appeal said they could seek to temporarily get out of mandates not fully funded by the state. The mid-level state appellate court ruled in a lawsuit brought by the California School Boards Association, the San Diego Unified School District, the San Jose Unified School District, and others. The plaintiffs say they are owed more than $900 million over a several-year period for costs associated with state-mandated programs such as AIDS education, pupil health screening, criminal background checks, and teacher incentives. (more...)