Court denies intervention requests in education funding lawsuit

WISCONSIN – In February, 19 plaintiffs from across the state, including the Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) and the Green Bay Education Association (GBEA), filed suit against the Wisconsin State Legislature and its Joint Committee on Finance for failing to adequately fund public schools across the state.

Led by the Wisconsin PTA, the plaintiffs include students, parents, advocates, educators, school districts and community members asking the court to hold the legislature accountable for not meeting its constitutionally mandated obligation to provide all children with an equal opportunity for a sound basic education.

In May, the plaintiffs, represented by Law Forward, along with co-counsel from the Wisconsin Education Association Council, filed a brief opposing efforts by outside groups to join the case as defendants.

The brief addressed two separate motions for intervention — one filed by a group of five private school parents, three public school parents, individual private schools, networks of such schools and a membership organization for such schools; and another filed by a group of three private school parents.

According to the brief, “Because neither motion meets the applicable legal tests for intervention, both should be denied.”

This week, the court denied the motion to intervene filed by independent charter school advocates.

“We are pleased the court has continued to keep this case focused on its core purpose: whether Wisconsin is fulfilling its constitutional obligation to adequately fund public schools. Today’s ruling clears the way for the case to move forward on the merits,” said Rachel Snyder, policy counsel at Law Forward. “Every student deserves access to a quality public education, regardless of their ZIP code. For too long, school districts across Wisconsin have struggled under a funding system that leaves students, educators and communities without the resources they need to succeed. We look forward to working with the Court and the parties to establish the next steps in this litigation and ultimately presenting the evidence demonstrating why Wisconsin’s school funding system must be fixed.”