Derolph v. State - 1997-Ohio-84, 78 Ohio St. 3d 193, 677 N.E.2d 733

Rule:

Ohio Const. art. VI, § 2 requires the state to provide and fund a system of public education and includes an explicit directive to the general assembly that it shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.

Facts:

Appellants, the school boards, the teachers and the pupils, filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the Court of Common Pleas of Perry County, seeking a determination that Ohio's system of funding public education was unconstitutional. Following trial, the trial court determined that Ohio's system of school funding violated numerous provisions of the Ohio Constitution, including Section 2, Article VI, requiring a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state. The trial court ordered the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to prepare legislative proposals for submission to the General Assembly to eliminate wealth-based disparities among Ohio's public school districts. Upon appeal by the Ohio Attorney General, the appellate court reversed the decision of the trial court and found that the current system of school funding was constitutional.

Issue:

Was Ohio’s public elementary and secondary school finance system unconstitutional?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The Court found that the standard of review was to determine whether Ohio had a thorough and efficient system for its schools. The Court noted that the doctrine of judicial review gave the court the authority to overcome the rebuttable presumption that a law was constitutional. The Court found that Ohio Const. art. VI, § 2 required the state to provide and fund a system of public education and included an explicit directive to the general assembly that it shall make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state. But the Court held that the system was not implemented fairly to all districts in the state. The Court held that Ohio's system was not thorough and efficient because some districts were starved for funds or lacked teachers, buildings, and equipment. The Court held that the financing scheme required a complete systematic overhaul, and directed that the general assembly had to take on the task of enacting new legislation.