Dive Brief:

• In Kansas and Washington, state supreme courts have ruled multiple times that school funding formulas are unconstitutional, yet lawmakers haven't addressed the problem.
• According to Education Week, judges in each state "seem to be fed up," with Washington still paying $100,000 penalties imposed by their court and Kansas facing a June 30 school shutdown unless a solution emerges.
• In Kansas specifically, some lawmakers have said that they feel the court overstepped its boundaries, indicating that they may defy the deadline and ruling.

Dive Insight:

Both states have wrestled with funding formulas long before these latest court decisions, but the snail-like pace of policymakers has given judges the impetus they needed in order to lay down tough ultimatums and timelines. In Kansas, the temporary fix that is currently enacted was created as an answer to a lawsuit filed six years ago. An attorney for the four school districts that initially sued the state in Ganon v. Kansas — Dodge City, Hutchinson, Wichita, and Kansas City — says schools are underfunded by $73 million.

And in Washington, most recently, the state Senate green-lit a compromise to create a task force to find a solution to the state's dependence on local school levies. But some say it's not clear if the creation of the task force will actually satisfy the demands that led the court to instate the daily $100,000 penalty.  

Pennsylvania has also fielded lawsuits that alleged that the state was "failing to provide adequate education" for students. That state reportedly relies heavily on property taxes for funding. A gap in per-pupil spending is reported to range from $9,800 to $28,400. The state's funding structures are being examined.