Summary: Since the 1960s, the federal government has targeted educational funds to areas with the greatest need. More recently, the federal government has also encouraged states and localities to develop high academic standards for all school-age children. The system used to finance local schools in each state can affect whether students in all districts can realistically achieve such standards. In most states, these systems rely heavily on local property wealth, which can vary greatly from district to district. Since 1989, more than half of the states have been involved in lawsuits alleging that disparate access to education revenues violated the state's responsibility to provide for the education of all students. GAO reviewed the experiences of three states--Tennessee, Texas, and Minnesota--that had recently reforms their finance systems to make them more equitable. For each state, GAO characterizes (1) the reforms to the school finance systems and the legal, budgetary, and political pressures the legislature faced in making the changes and (2) the general impact of the legislative remedy, especially in addressing disparities in educational funding. This report also presents advice provided by state officials for other states reforming their school finance systems.
