Moore vs. State of Alaska
Lawsuit at a glance
January 2007
Who:
Parents, educators, school districts*
What:
Filed landmark school funding lawsuit against State of Alaska;
challenge constitutionality of K-12 school funding on the
grounds of adequacy: because the state does not invest
enough money in its schools to provide an adequate
education for all students
When:
Month-long trial ended early November 2006; lawsuit filed
August 9, 2004
Where: Superior
Court for the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District
at Anchorage
Why: Alaska’s
Constitution states, “the legislature shall by general
law establish and
maintain a system of public schools open
to all children of the state.” But the state has consistently
and
repeatedly failed to
provide an adequate education for all
children.
-
Over the past
two decades, while Alaska has enjoyed unparalleled
wealth, lawmakers have systematically reduced investment
in K-12 schools. Inflation alone has cut the value of
each education dollar almost in half.
-
Over the past four years,
Alaskans have finally seen some progress with increased
funding from Juneau—but most of the increases have been
shifted to meet increased energy, insurance and
retirement costs. Little has actually made it into
classrooms.
-
Adequacy in school funding
is THE civil rights issue of our day. Moore is a
natural extension of the Brown vs. Board of
Education case that struck down segregated schools
53 years ago.
-
The state’s benchmark
tests and the exit exam clearly define what an education
is. Yet large numbers of children fail the tests that
determine whether these children have obtained the basic
literacy level that we expect of all members of our
society.
Remedy:
Plaintiffs ask that the court order the state to conduct a cost
analysis for providing a constitutionally adequate education,
and then to order the state to fund that education accordingly.
STATUS: Awaiting decision from Superior Court Judge
Sharon Gleason. Closing arguments were heard on Dec. 19, 2006.
Judge Gleason has six months from that date (until June 19,
2007) to issue a decision.
Moore vs. State of Alaska
Lawsuit at a glance
March 2006
Who: Educators, school districts, parents*
What: File landmark school funding lawsuit against State of Alaska;
Challenge constitutionality of K-12 school funding on the grounds of
adequacy:
because the state does not invest enough money in its
schools to provide an
adequate education for all students
When: August 9, 2004
Where: Superior Court for the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District at Anchorage
Why: Alaska's children have a constitutionally protected right to an education, which by the state's own definition, they are not receiving.
- Benchmark tests and the exit exam clearly define what an education is. The state has defined the subject areas of an education as well as the content of those subject areas.
- Yet large numbers of children fail the tests that the state itself calls appropriate to determine if these children have obtained the basic literacy level that we expect of all members of our society.
- The children of whole school districts do not receive an education when only one in five is proficient over repeated years of benchmark testing.
- And children do not receive an education when no music is taught, or art, or geography, or even, in a quarter of Alaska's schools, when the very subjects tested are not taught.**
Remedy: Plaintiffs ask that the court order the state to conduct a cost analysis for providing a constitutionally adequate education, and then fund that education accordingly.
*Plaintiffs: Kristine & Gregory Moore of Wasilla; Mike & Maggie Williams of Akiak;
Melvin & Rosemary Otton of Koyuk; Wayne and Martha Morgan of Aniak;
Jerry S. Dixon of Seward; Bering Strait School District; Yupiit School
District; Kuspuk School District; Citizens for the Educational
Advancement of Alaska's Children (CEAAC); and NEA-Alaska.
**Not taught: In 26% of the secondary schools in Alaska, geometry is not taught, yet knowledge of geometry is required to pass the exit exam and graduate from high school.
