California has set clear requirements for what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. The State has failed in its obligation to provide the resources necessary for students to meet the required standards.
• The State’s failure to support the required educational program adversely affects all students. Academic achievement measures show California’s broken school finance system denies students the opportunity to become proficient in the State’s academic standards.
• This lawsuit seeks to remedy the broken school finance system by (1) declaring that it is unconstitutional and (2) requiring state lawmakers to uphold their constitutional duty to design and implement a school finance system that provides all students equal access to the required educational program.
California Education Statistics
Staffing ratios
California’s ranking:
• 49th among all states in student-teacher ratios. (Digest of Education Statistics
[DES], 2007-08)
• 45th in instructional aides. (DES, 2007-08)
• 46th in district officials and administrators. (DES, 2007-08)
• 48th in total school staff. (DES, 2007-08)
• 49th in guidance counselors. (DES, 2007-08)
• 50th in librarians. (DES, 2007-08)
Finances
• California spends $2,131 less per pupil than the national average, ranking the State
44th in the country. (National Education Association [NEA], 2008-09)
• When adjusted for regional cost differences of providing education services (using
a national wage index), California spends $2,856 less per pupil than the national
average, or 47th among all states. (NEA, 2008-09, and National Center for Education
Statistics)
• California spends less per pupil than each of the largest 10 states in the nation –
almost $6,000 less per pupil than New York. (NEA, 2008-09)
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