Power, Constraint, and Policy Change

Shane A. Gleason, Susanne Schorpp, Christine H. Roch, Robert M. Howard

Description

Power, Constraint, and Policy Change analyzes state court influence on state education finance reform. Beginning in the early 1970s litigants began filing suits in state courts to change state education funding in order to prevent disparities in education resources between wealthy and poor communities. These cases represent a fundamental policy debate in American society, pitting the importance of education against the cost and method of funding it. Through education finance, the authors explore how and why courts often end up determining and resolving policy funding debates. Education funding has involved both the federal constitution and state constitutions, as well as legislation and court-mandated remedies, which, ultimately, determine who and how we pay for this critical American value.
List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
The Fight over Funding
A Brief History of Public Education
The Funding Disparity and the Turn to Court-Ordered Solutions
Why Courts? A Theory of Policy Change through State Courts
Waves of Finance Reform
Plan of the Book

2. Why Courts?
Introduction: Politics, Law, and Education Finance Reform
The Political Environment
Hypotheses
Data
Models, Methodology, and Results
Conclusion: Predicting the Institutional Agent of Court-Ordered Finance Reform

3. Citation Patterns in Education Finance Policy
Introduction
Vertical Citations and the Power of Precedent
Horizontal Citations and Persuasiveness
Hypotheses: State Supreme Courts Shaping Education Finance Reform
Data and Methods
Results

4. When Citations Are Not Enough
Introduction
What Else Matters
Testing the Limits of Citations: Data and Methods
Results
Discussion and Conclusion

5. Policy Diffusion through Courts
Introduction: Do as I Do, Not as I Say
Policy Diffusion in the States
Diffusion and Emulation of Court-Ordered Education
Finance Reform
Political, Institutional, and Legal Factors Influencing Emulation
Data, Method, and Model
Results
Discussion

6. Conclusion—How State Courts Move and Change Policy
Law, Politics, and Policy Formation
Empirical Findings
What We Know
What We Want to Know

Notes
References
Index

Sujets

• National
• États-Unis
• Central
• Regional
• Region
• Central government
• Local government law
• United States of America
• USA

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438481371
• Langue: English

Extrait

Power, Constraint, and Policy Change
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism

Robert J. Spitzer, editor
Power, Constraint, and Policy Change
Courts and Education Finance Reform
Robert M. Howard
Christine H. Roch
Susanne Schorpp
Shane A. Gleason
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2021 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Howard, Robert M., 1956– author. | Roch, Christine H., author. | Schorpp, Susanne, author. | Gleason, Shane A., author.
Title: Power, constraint, and policy change : courts and education finance reform / Robert M. Howard, Christine H. Roch, Susanne Schorpp, and Shane A. Gleason.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2021. | Series: SUNY series in American constitutionalism | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020024650 | ISBN 9781438481357 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438481371 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Public policy (Law)—United States—States. | Courts—United States—States. | Education—United States—States—Finance.
Classification: LCC KF4695 .H69 2021 | DDC 344.73/076—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020024650
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Robert Howard dedicates this book to his family, past, present, and future. To my late Mom and Dad, Nana and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, I miss you and will always love you. To my now four wonderful children, Courtney, Jordan, Dave, and Kate, and to my grandchild, Arthur, you make everything I do worthwhile. Finally, to the love of my life and companion for over forty years, Taryn, if you had not allowed a disgruntled thirty-something lawyer to start a new career, none of this would have been possible.
Christine Roch dedicates this book to her family. To my wonderful husband—who has done a tremendous job of supporting what I do and in being there with me through both great times and difficult ones. And to my beautiful, smart, and funny daughter whom I am so lucky to have. I also am thankful for the love, support, and encouragement that I have received throughout the years from my parents and my sister.
Susanne Schorpp dedicates this book to Ella.
Shane Gleason dedicates this book to Alex, his favorite teacher.
Contents
L IST OF F IGURES AND T ABLES
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
C HAPTER 1
Introduction
The Fight over Funding
A Brief History of Public Education
The Funding Disparity and the Turn to Court-Ordered Solutions
Why Courts? A Theory of Policy Change through State Courts
Waves of Finance Reform
Plan of the Book
C HAPTER 2
Why Courts?
Introduction: Politics, Law, and Education Finance Reform
The Political Environment
Hypotheses
Data
Models, Methodology, and Results
Conclusion: Predicting the Institutional Agent of Court-Ordered Finance Reform
C HAPTER 3
Citation Patterns in Education Finance Policy
Introduction
Vertical Citations and the Power of Precedent
Horizontal Citations and Persuasiveness
Hypotheses: State Supreme Courts Shaping Education Finance Reform
Data and Methods
Results
C HAPTER 4
When Citations Are Not Enough
Introduction
What Else Matters
Testing the Limits of Citations: Data and Methods
Results
Discussion and Conclusion
C HAPTER 5
Policy Diffusion through Courts
Introduction: Do as I Do, Not as I Say
Policy Diffusion in the States
Diffusion and Emulation of Court-Ordered Education Finance Reform
Political, Institutional, and Legal Factors Influencing Emulation
Data, Method, and Model
Results
Discussion
C HAPTER 6
Conclusion—How State Courts Move and Change Policy
Law, Politics, and Policy Formation
Empirical Findings
What We Know
What We Want to Know
N OTES
R EFERENCES
I NDEX
Figures and Tables
Figures 1.1 Spending per Pupil by School District US 1.2 Ideology Scores for Retired Warren Court Justices and Replacement Burger Court Justices 1.3 Status of Education Finance Litigation by Winning Party 1.4 Policy Domain without State Supreme Courts 1.5 Policy Domain with State Supreme Courts 1.6 Policy Range of State Supreme Courts 2.1 The Effect of Union Strength on Legislative Reform (Predicted Probabilities with 95% CI) 2.2 The Effect of Appointed State Judges on Legislative Reform (Predicted Probabilities with 95% CI) 2.3 The Effect of Judicial Appointment and Inequality in Funding on Court-Mandated Reform (Predicted Probabilities with 95% CI) 3.1 Wave 2 and Wave 3 Citation Networks 4.1 Wave 2 and Wave 3 Policy Networks 5.1 The Impact of Liberalism in the Political Environment of the Receiver State on the Probability of Emulation by Court Liberalism (Wave 2) 5.2 The Impact of Court Liberalism of the Receiver State on the Probability of Emulation by Political Environment (Wave 2) 5.3 The Impact of Liberalism in the Political Environment of the Receiver State on the Probability of Emulation by Court Liberalism (Wave 3)
Tables 1.1 State Cases by Year 2.1 Logistic Regression Results for Legislative Reform 2.2 Average Marginal Effects for Legislative Reform 2.3 Logistic Regression Results for Court-Ordered Reform 2.4 Average Marginal Effects for Court-Ordered Reform 3.1 Social Network Matrix Example 3.2 Citation Prestige 3.3 Case Count and Prestige 3.4 Professionalism in the Citation Network 3.5 Constitutional Education Provisions 4.1 Prestige in Policy 4.2 Case Count and Prestige 4.3 Professionalism in the Citation Network 4.4 Professionalism in the Citation Network with Constitutional Provisions 5.1 Summary Statistics 5.2 Regression Results for Emulation (Pro Petitioner Only)
Acknowledgments
This book was many years in the making and relied on help and advice from numerous people. We know we will omit some names who deserve mention—memories have a way of fading. However, we will do our best. First, we would like to thank the late Susette Talarico of the University of Georgia. Susette encouraged us to submit a very early and very preliminary analysis of courts and education policy to the Justice System Journal and took two very junior colleagues under her wing to help us produce a publishable article. She is missed.
We would also like to thank the editors and the various anonymous reviewers of the journals that published earlier versions of our research: in particular, Cornell Clayton and Amy Mazur of Political Research Quarterly ; Nancy Reichman of Law and Policy ; and Joseph O’Rourke, the student editor-in-chief of the Albany Law Review , all of whom helped us immensely as we worked our way through this vast literature and data and tried to offer some helpful ideas on state courts and education finance reform.
The authors wish to acknowledge all the research assistance by graduate students through the years, many of whom have gone on to have outstanding academic careers and others who will have wonderful careers: Shenita Brazelton, Jeffery Glas, Diana White, Morgan Smith, Jeffrey Davis, and Pamela Corley.
Chapter 1

Introduction
The Fight over Funding
The Kansas Constitution has a provision providing for a free public education. Article 6, section 1 of the constitution states, “The legislature shall provide for intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement by establishing and maintaining public schools, educational institutions and related activities which may be organized and changed in such manner as may be provided by law.” Article 6, section 6 spells out the financing:
(a) The legislature may levy a permanent tax for the use and benefit of state institutions of higher education and apportion among and appropriate the same to the several institutions, which levy, apportionment and appropriation shall continue until changed by statute. Further appropriation and other provision for finance of institutions of higher education may be made by the legislature.
(b) The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state. No tuition shall be charged for attendance at any public school to pupils required by law to attend such school, except such fees or supplemental charges as may be authorized by law. The legislature may authorize the state board of regents to establish tuition, fees and charges at institutions under its supervision.
In 2011, Sam Brownback became governor of Kansas. Along with allies in the Kansas state legislature, Brownback pushed through a series of significant tax cuts, created as part of a “real, live experiment” in governance (Berman 2015), designed to stimulate the state economy and result in an expansion of state revenue. Instead, the state has seen a significant decline in revenue and a downgrade in the state’s credit rating (Hanna 2016). The decline in revenue has led to severe cutbacks in state spending, including education. Specifically, Brownback and the Republican-dominated legislature changed the way funds were allocated to public schools. Previously, money had been allocated on a per pupil basis to ensure adequate fin