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October 8, 2015      5:23 PM

Gov. Abbott wants school finance case kicked back to lower court

It's an argument that seems impossible former Gov. Perry would make himself - Abbott points to every major education bill passed this year as evidence the financial and academic picture for Texas schools will be significantly different going forward. Some legal experts tell QR the case could be delayed for 5 years if Abbott gets his way.

It turns out that just days before oral arguments, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office urged the Texas Supreme Court to remand the school finance case back to the district court.

In an amicus brief filed on August 26, Abbott’s office used every major education bill passed in the 84th Legislature – from new literacy academies to early education funding to revisions in interventions -- to suggest the financial picture for Texas schools would be significantly different for Texas school districts in 2016-17, versus the funding of 2012-13, when the school finance lawsuit was first filed.

Abbott argued funding per student had increased by 9 percent, to $10,672, since the initial school finance lawsuit was filed. Overall funding had increased by 18 percent, to $94.5 billion in the 2017-18 biennium. Combined with ongoing assessment system changes, the claims of the plaintiff school districts lacked ripeness, he wrote.

By Kimberly Reeves