MAINE

Constitutional Clause/Language

“A general diffusion of the advantages of education being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people; to promote this important object, the Legislature are authorized, and it shall be their duty to require, the several towns to make suitable provision, at their own expense,
for the support and maintenance of public schools.” Me. Const. art. VIII, pt. 1, s. 1.

Major Court Decision: Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 1 v. Commissioner, 659 A.2d 854 (Me. 1995).

Result: Financing system upheld

Summary: The court does not address the question of whether education is a fundamental right, but it holds that school children do not have a fundamental right to equal educational expenditures.  The court states that the constitution does not speak of a certain minimum level of funding that should be provided to schools.

Key Quotes:

“We conclude that the Superior Court selected the appropriate standard of review, and correctly applied the rational basis analysis to the challenged parts of the Act. The issue before us does not involve an inherently suspect classification, and we need not address whether education is a fundamental right under the Maine Constitution because the plaintiffs' argument fails even if education is such a fundamental right. Plaintiffs presented no evidence at trial that any disparities in funding resulted in their students receiving an inadequate education. Rather, plaintiffs challenged under equal protection law the method by which funding reductions were implemented.” Id. at 857.

 “Even if we were to conclude that education is a fundamental right in Maine, plaintiffs offered no authority for the proposition that they have a fundamental right under the Maine Constitution to state funding, a particular mechanism for state funding, or a particular method for reducing state funding. . .  The Act as a whole, including the provisions for reductions from recommended levels of funding, continues to further a legitimate state goal of subsidizing the local communities' efforts to provide resources for education, but to do so within available state revenues.  They don’t go to the question of education as a fundamental right because. . . Plaintiffs presented no evidence at trial that any disparities in funding resulted in their students receiving an inadequate education. . . There is no provision in the Maine Constitution guaranteeing a certain level of state funding of education or equitable funding. To the contrary, the Maine Constitution requires only that the State enforce the municipal obligation to support public education.  Id. at 858.