Alabama Coalition for Equity
American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama
Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program
Joint statement on decision in Equity Funding Case
June 6, 2002
We are severely disappointed by the recent decision of the Alabama Supreme Court to dismiss further remedy proceedings in the consolidated lawsuits collectively known as the Equity Funding Case. The Equity Funding Case began in 1990, when a group of poor school districts (ACE) filed a lawsuit against the state demanding the equitable and adequate distribution of education resources across all school districts. Civil rights, such as the right to education, cannot be fully protected unless the judiciary has the power, and the will, to enforce such rights by ordering effective remedies for their violation.
We take some solace, nevertheless, from the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision to leave the Liability Order in place. The Liability Order, issued by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Eugene Reese on March 31, 1993, declared the state in violation of the 1901 Constitution of Alabama by failing to provide Alabama’s public school children an adequate and equitable education. Therefore, the legislative and executive branches remain under a constitutional obligation to ensure that all of Alabama’s public school children are provided with an education that is both equitable and adequate. We will now turn our attention to ensuring that our elected representatives fulfill that responsibility.
To that end, we note that the state superintendent of education and the state board of education have recently completed work on a comprehensive adequacy plan for public education in the state. Implementation of this plan would require a substantial infusion of additional resources to support public education. We urge the governor and the Legislature to give serious consideration to this plan as they begin the process of providing a remedy for the ongoing constitutional violation of the right of Alabama’s school children to an adequate and equitable education.
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