New legal opinion states school funding amendment has no effect on equal protections

School bus tile
School bus tile

NASHVILLE - A legal opinion from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution regarding public school funding would not adversely impact the state's equal protection provisions.

The opinion was requested by Rep. Bill Dunn. The Knoxville Republican's proposed amendment changes a section requiring state lawmakers to provide for the maintenance and support of a "system of free public schools." Dunn believes the change would allow lawmakers to spend what they feel is needed on education.

Critics say that change could run afoul of equal protection and due process provisions in the constitution. Slatery's opinion disagrees.

Slatery writes that the proposed amendment "does not change the meaning of the public schools clause" in the state constitution nor the General Assembly's mandate "to determine how to provide for free public education in Tennessee pursuant to the public schools clause."

Successful school-funding lawsuits in the 1990s and early 2000s, in which smaller, largely rural systems complained they were treated unfairly by the state, were based on equal protection language in the state and U.S. Constitution.

Dunn proposed the constitutional amendment after school systems in Hamilton and six nearby counties last year filed a lawsuit claiming the state is short-changing all districts on funding. Shelby County schools filed its own suit.

A Davidson County judge earlier this year allowed the Hamilton County suit to proceed, rejecting Slatery's effort to have it dismissed.

The lawsuit by Hamilton County and the other systems contends Article XI, Section 12 of the state Constitution requires the state to provide public schools with adequate support.

The provision now says the state of Tennessee "recognizes the inherent value of education and encourages its support" and that the "General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools."

The lawsuit irritated Republican lawmakers, who last year passed a law that if the schools lose their lawsuit, they will have to pay the state's legal fees. Critics charge it was a blatant attempt to intimidate poorer systems.

Dunn had his own ideas and wants new constitutional language allowing state lawmakers to spend as much - or as little - as they wish on public education.

Dunn's House Joint Resolution 493, which would require approval by Tennessee voters before it became part of the Constitution, reads: "The General Assembly as the elected representatives of the people shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools in such manner as the General Assembly may determine."

Upcoming Events