Dive Brief:

• The Mississippi Supreme Court is set to begin hearing arguments Wednesday around whether the legislature has an obligation to fully fund education in the state.
• Twenty-one school districts originally sued the state for $236 million for not allocating enough money to the districts between 2010-2015, but a lower judge ruled against the districts, rejecting the notion that the legislature is legally bound to fully fund them.
• The school districts are also calling on the court to mandate the state never underfund them again, but Attorney General Jim Hood said the state is immune from having to make payments, the Associated Press reports.

Dive Insight:

The debate over school funding models and equity of resource allocation is one that is present in every state across the country, and none have found a suitable balance that provides evenly for all students in a state. This is largely because local taxes contribute to the funding model, and since neighborhoods nationwide remain largely segregated by race and class, such a hyper-local model will always mean more tax revenue, and thus more resources, in one area and less in another. 

Still, states and districts have an imperative to find ways to not only fund schools equally in the present, but find ways to close historic gaps around access and funding as well. This means putting competitive programs and advanced classes in the traditionally disadvantaged schools to encourage students from around the district to want to attend and bridge achievement gaps. It also means prioritizing construction projects in schools with moldy ceilings or rusty pipes over those with more suitable learning conditions, even if it is an unpopular political move.