| Abstract: | As of January 1991, state education finance systems had beenoverturned by the courts in twelve states and upheld by thecourts in another fourteen. This article examines the ways inwhich states have responded to the challenge of equity in schoolfinance. Equity reforms are rooted in two kinds of inequitiesin public elementary and secondary education. First, state governmentscan address interdistrict or territorial inequity that is dueto the disparity in local taxable wealth. Second, state governmentscan address the social inequity that arises from the presenceof special-needs populations within a district. A reform strategyis likely to reflect a state's relative emphases on territorialand social inequities. The common tendency, however, is to focuson territorial equity. These policy tendencies are shaped byvarious state political and institutional factors. |
