Inequality in Louisiana Public School Finance: Should Educational Quality Depend on a Student's School District Residency?

Comment by Douglas McKeige

Depending on the school district within which a Louisiana public school student resides, as little as $1,892 or as much as $6,099 is spent on his or her annual education. Such disparities in educational spending undoubtedly create vast differences in the quality of education offered by different Louisiana school districts. These imbalances are in sharp tension with the Louisiana Constitution, which provides that Louisiana's school system be “designed to promote excellence in order that every individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop his full potential.”' This Comment will describe Louisiana's educational inequities. It will examine why the inequities occur and suggest how they might be remedied. It will also examine the constitutionality of the school finance system under the Louisiana Constitution with reference to state and federal cases that have dealt with similar controversies.


About the Author

Douglas McKeige.

Citation

60 Tul. L. Rev. 1269 (1986)