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DALLAS (AP) -- Texas' complicated school finance system is constitutional, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday - a surprise defeat for the 600-plus school districts that endured more than four years of costly legal battles hoping judges would force the Republican-controlled Legislature to fork over more funding.
The all-Republican court reversed a lower judge's decision that had sided with schools and called state lawmakers' $5.4 billion in classroom cuts in 2011 inadequate and unfairly distributed among the wealthy and poor districts.
The 9-0 decision ends a case that was the largest of its kind in Texas history. Major legal battles over classroom funding have raged six times since 1984, but the latest ruling marks just the second time that justices have failed to find the system unconstitutional. It also means the Texas Legislature won't have to devise a new funding system.
"Our Byzantine school funding 'system' is undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement. But it satisfies minimum constitutional requirements," the court found in its ruling. "Accordingly, we decline to usurp legislative authority."
The court also said "there doubtless exist innovative reform measures to make Texas schools more accountable and efficient, both quantitatively and qualitatively" but it added that "our judicial responsibility is not to second-guess or micromanage Texas education policy."
The school funding mechanism is a "Robin Hood" formula where wealthy school districts share local property tax revenue with districts in poorer areas. Districts rely heavily on property taxes because Texas has no state income tax.
School districts in all parts of Texas were on the same side in the case. While those in economically challenged areas said funding was inadequate, districts in well-to-do locales argued that voters often refuse to approve local tax increases because much of the money would go elsewhere.
Texas State Teachers Association President Noel Candelaria said in a statement: "It is a sad day when the state's highest court decides that doing the least the state can do to educate our children is enough."
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the leader of the Texas Senate and former head of its powerful education committee, admitted that "Robin Hood' doesn't work well" and that lawmakers would continue making improvements to school funding.
But with the court fight over, the pressure is off.
"The school funding issue, for now, has been resolved," Patrick said at the Texas Republican Convention in Dallas. "The Supreme Court said we're right."
At issue were the massive cuts to public education and related classroom grant programs that the Legislature approved in 2011, when the state's economy was still reeling from the Great Recession. That prompted more than 600 rich and poor school districts - which educate three-quarters of the state's public school students - to sue, arguing they could no longer properly function amid Texas' public school enrollment growth of nearly 80,000 students annually.
Exacerbating the problems, the districts argued, was the Legislature's increased demand for student and teacher accountability as measured by standardized testing scores and tough curriculum standards.
One of the groups suing was the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which pointed to the growing number of Texas students who need extra instruction to learn English.
"It is incredibly disappointing that a system so deeply flawed could be interpreted as passing constitutional muster," said Democratic State Rep. Ana Hernandez, legal counsel to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. "The 'imperfections' cited by the Court in its decision are no small wrinkle. They have profound consequences for urban and rural school districts serving low-income communities."
Democratic Texas District Judge John Dietz's first ruling in 2013 found the state's system didn't meet the Texas Constitution's requirements for a fair and efficient system providing a "general diffusion of knowledge." State lawmakers responded by restoring more than $3 billion to schools and cutting the number of standardized tests required for high school students to graduate from a nation-high 15 to five.
Dietz reopened the case to hear how that would impact schools, but didn't change his mind before issuing his written ruling in August 2014, which the state appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. Last year, the Legislature pumped about another $1.5 billion into schools, but that wasn't enough to cover the 2011 cuts when adjusted for enrollment growth and inflation.
When lawmakers reconvene in January, there will be no court-mandated funding limits.
DALLAS (AP) -- Texas' lieutenant governor says the state is prepared to forfeit billions of dollars in federal funding for public schools following an Obama administration directive over bathroom access for transgender students.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday that Texas "will not yield to blackmail" and urged superintendents to defy the new federal guidance. The directive says public schools are obligated to treat transgender students in a way matching their gender identity.
The guidance doesn't impose new legal requirements, but rather clarifies expectations for districts receiving federal funds.
Patrick says Texas receives roughly $10 billion in federal education dollars. He didn't say how that money might be replaced. Patrick's remarks came only moments after more than half the state's 1,200 school districts lost a major lawsuit claiming that Texas unconstitutionally underfunds public schools.
Associated Press
DALLAS— One question has lingered in the Central Texas farming town of West since a fertilizer plant caught fire in 2013 and exploded, killing 15 people and damaging at least $100 million in property: What caused the blaze?
On Wednesday, federal officials came to West with an answer — and in the process cast a much different light on a catastrophe many locals thought was behind them.
"This fire was a criminal act," Robert Elder, the special agent in charge of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Houston office, announced during a news briefing in West.
With authorities ruling the fire at the West Fertilizer Co. building had been "intentionally set," new questions quickly emerged: Who? And why? Would someone want to bring heartache to the town of about 3,000, known statewide for its old-world Czech traditions and kolache fruit pastries?
"A few of those thoughts went through my mind," said Mary Sanders, whose son Kevin was among the 12 first responders killed. Sanders choked up as she spoke by phone, saying the ATF's news came as she and her family were "just finally coping" with his death.
Law enforcement experts said a suspect's intent could be important as prosecutors decide whether to pursue arson, murder or domestic terrorism charges. Intent also could play a role in sentencing, should the government proceed with a case and win.
Elder declined to discuss specifics about suspects, possible charges or motive for the April 17, 2013, incident, one of Texas' deadliest industrial disasters. But agents were "headed in the right direction," he said, and hoped a new $50,000 reward would "get us across that finish line."
Elder said the investigation had in recent months eliminated two other potential causes that remained — faulty electronic wiring at the building and a short-circuiting golf cart. The probe cost $2 million and included more than 400 interviews, a fire-scene examination and "extensive scientific testing" at an ATF fire research laboratory.
"Why the fire was set, I don't know," Elder said. "Hopefully when we arrest the person or persons responsible, they'll tell us."
Matt Orwig, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said whatever the motive and charges, anyone convicted probably faces at least life imprisonment.
Federal reports estimated that the West Fertilizer Co. had a supply of 40 to 60 tons of ammonium nitrate, a popular agricultural fertilizer that can be explosive under certain conditions.
Across the world, ammonium nitrate fertilizer has been faulted in other deadly accidents. It has also been mixed with fuel oil and used in attacks, including the deadly 1995 bombing of Oklahoma City's federal building. Some countries have banned the fertilizer or restricted its use.
The ammonium nitrate in West detonated after the fire had raged for about 20 minutes, investigators previously found. The blast left a crater 90 feet wide and at least 10 feet deep, and sent debris as far as 2 miles away. A federal report noted that the plant was about 550 feet from the closest school, which sustained catastrophic damage but was not in session at the time.
A volunteer West paramedic was later accused of collecting materials for an explosive device. Bryce Reed pleaded guilty to federal charges and served time in prison. Authorities have never blamed Reed for the plant explosion, and Elder on Wednesday said he's not a suspect in the ongoing investigation.
Investigating a complex explosion scene like West requires time and extensive scientific lab work, said Mike Bouchard, a retired assistant director for ATF field operations who supervised the investigation of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon. But that alone wouldn't explain why it took the ATF, assisted by other federal and state agencies, three years to determine the fire was intentionally set, Bouchard said.
"It's highly likely some new information came to light that would cause them to now come out and say it was a criminal act," he said. "They wouldn't make that statement unless they had some evidence to prove that. You can't just say, 'It has to be this,' because you've ruled out everything else."
Bouchard added that the reward is an indication "they're looking for some additional information to help them prove a case." Money might be the incentive for someone "to tell what they know," he said.
Orwig, the former U.S. attorney, said the decision to go public signals the highest levels of the Justice Department believe there is "strong evidence to support what they're saying occurred."
"That's not saying they have enough currently for a conviction or even to take it to a grand jury," Orwig said. "But what it does mean is, they believe they have enough to responsibly make that statement."
For Sanders and others who lost a loved one in the disaster, the announcement brought back raw emotions. She's unsure what to think about a criminal investigation that will drag on.
"I don't know that I would really want to pursue something a little bit more," she said. "We just have to accept this has happened and really move forward. If further investigation down the line brings more to light, we'll have to deal with it further."