A beginner’s guide to McCleary
If it seems like the state has been debating the need to fully fund public schools for a generation, you’re right. M*A*S*H was still on television and KC and the Sunshine Band were at the top of the charts when Thurston County Superior Court Judge Robert Doran ordered lawmakers in 1977 to define and fund a “basic education” for all students.
That decision nearly 40 years ago led to a series of laws, and lawsuits, culminating in the state Supreme Court’s “McCleary” decision in 2012. That decision ordered the state to fully fund basic education and end the disparity between property-poor districts and their wealthier counterparts.
Legislators have committed to finishing the job in time for the 2018 school year, and the court is holding them to it. Gov. Jay Inslee’s education funding proposal fully funds basic education as well as additional programs to ensure great teachers in every classroom and a much stronger focus on closing the opportunity gap to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
Here’s a quick look at the key events that got us here:
1889 — “paramount duty”
The delegates drafting Washington’s constitution in preparation for statehood include the following wording, which is eventually ratified: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.”
There’s nothing ambiguous about this language. It says the state is responsible for funding basic education, period. What has been ambiguous is what “basic education” means, which takes us to …
1977 — The Doran decision
Judge Doran’s ruling orders the Legislature to define and fully fund basic education. This results in the Basic Education Act of 1977, which puts definitions and a funding formula into statute.
1983 — Expansion of basic education
The Legislature expands the definition of basic education to include special education, bilingual education, remediation assistance and transportation of students to and from school.
2007 — McCleary
A group of education advocates sues the state for its failure to fully fund basic education. They argue that for decades, school districts have been using local property tax levies to make up the gap between state funding and what it actually costs to run their schools. The result is an unfair system in which property-rich districts have an advantage over property-poor ones. All children should have the opportunity to get a great education regardless of their ZIP code, without reliance on local levies. This lawsuit is referred to as McCleary, after one of the lead plaintiffs.
That same year, the Legislature creates the Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force to “develop options for a new funding structure and all the necessary formulas, and propose a new definition of basic education.”
2009 — “Basic education” redefined
While McCleary works its way through the courts, the Legislature passes ESHB 2261, which provides a new, updated definition of what “basic education” means. This new definition includes all-day kindergarten, no more than 17 students per certificated staff member in grades K-3 and the opportunity to earn a 24-credit high school diploma. These are based on the recommendations of the Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force.
2010 — Updated funding formula and timetable
Legislators adopt SHB 2776, which establishes a new funding formula based on recommendations of the Joint Task Force on Education Funding. The new formula is based on a “prototypical school model” that vastly simplifies and improves the transparency of what the state is or isn’t paying for.
Ross Hunter, director of the Department of Early Learning, was one of the legislators leading education funding reform efforts during this time and a member of the task force. The school funding formula then, Hunter says, was a mess. “We had a stupid funding system for schools that made no sense. And we wanted to fix it.”
The funding formula, importantly, provides districts significant flexibility if they feel their students would benefit from spending the money differently. SHB 2776 also lays out a timetable for funding all the components of basic education, culminating with teacher and staff compensation by the 2018 school year. The bill passes both chambers on a bipartisan basis and is signed into law.
2012 — Supreme Court ruling puts legislators on notice
The state Supreme Court rules in favor of the McCleary plaintiffs, saying it wants to see ongoing progress toward meeting the state’s obligation to fully fund basic education by the 2018 school year, the deadline legislators set for themselves in SHB 2776. But by December, the court deems the first progress report to be inadequate.
2013 — McCleary step one: done
Gov. Inslee signs the 2013–15 budget, which makes a $758 million down payment on the state’s obligation to fund basic education by expanding all-day kindergarten, fully funding student transportation and significantly increasing state funding for materials, supplies and operating costs of K-12 schools.
2014 — State in contempt
In September, the Supreme Court finds the state in contempt for failing to come up with a plan to fully fund basic education.
2015 — McCleary step two: done — and sanctions
Gov. Inslee signs the 2015–17 budget, which takes the next major step forward in meeting the state’s obligation to fully fund basic education. In addition to historic investments in early learning (which is not considered part of “basic education” but is critical to helping close the opportunity gap), the budget invests $1.3 billion in K-12 education, including funding all-day kindergarten statewide and lowering class sizes in grades K-3.
In August, the Supreme Court begins fining the state $100,000 a day for its failure to put forth a plan for the final step in fully funding basic education, which primarily concerns compensation for teachers and staff.
2016 — McCleary step three: Gov. Inslee releases proposal to fully fund McCleary and more
On Dec. 13, Gov. Inslee releases his K-12 funding proposal, which includes $3.9 billion in new funding for public schools and pays for the final steps of McCleary, including compensation for educators and eliminating the decades-old reliance on local levies to fund basic education.
