TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Tallahassee-based appeals court will hear arguments next month in a long-running fight about whether Florida is providing an adequate public-education system.
The 1st District Court of Appeal last week scheduled arguments July 18 in the case spearheaded by the groups Citizens for Strong Schools, Inc., and Fund Education Now, according to an online docket.
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The case, which was filed in 2009, is rooted in a 1998 constitutional amendment that says it is a "paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders."
The lawsuit alleged that the state failed to comply with the constitutional amendment, which also says adequate provision will be made for a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system" of public schools.
Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds last year rejected the lawsuit, writing that the "weight of the evidence shows that the state has made education a top priority both in terms of implementation of research-based education policies and reforms, as well as education funding."