United States

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public school funding system based primarily on local property tax revenues does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause nor does it violate the right to education because, although education is an ‘important service’ it is not a fundamental right, as recognised by the U.S. Constitution.

Lawsuits challenging state methods of funding public schools have been launched in 45 of the 50 states over the past 40 years, and in recent years they have been extraordinarily successful.