San Antonio School District Vs. Rodriquez

San Antonio School District Vs. Rodriquez

Rodriquez was started by parents whose children attended elementary and secondary schools in the Edgewood Indecent School District. About 90% of the students were Mexican American and 6% were African American. In Rodriquez, the Plaintiff's brought a class action on behalf of school children who were members of poor families who reside in school districts having a low property tax base. They claimed that the school's confidence on local property taxation favors the more well off and violates equal protection requirements. The Supreme Court examined the Texas school finance structure and rejected this claim. They ruled that education was not a fundamental right under the Federal Constitution and that students did not have the right to attend schools funded on the same level as a nearby wealthier district.

This case shows the lack of equal educational opportunities for many poor and minority students, which was present in many states. School districts in America involved much of the funding for public schools to come from local property taxes. By doing this it affected the disadvantaged students who attended schools in the area that had low property taxes. This decision essentially placed the responsibility of equitable funding for public schools in the hands of the states, and since that time many states have faced law suits and court decisions based on their "formulas" for funding public schools (Verstegen, 1998).