Franczek Radelet Represents Indiana School Districts in Lawsuit Against the State of Indiana

By Amy Kosanovich Dickerson

Last week, three Franczek Radelet clients—Hamilton Southeastern Schools, Franklin Township Community Schools and Middlebury Community Schools—filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County, Indiana, against the State of Indiana. The public school corporations, located throughout the state of Indiana, argue that their schools are not receiving sufficient funding in violation of the Indiana Constitution as a result of the State’s long-held school funding formula.

According to the school corporations’ complaint, prepared by Franczek Radelet attorneys, the current funding system negatively affects schools with growing enrollments and is not uniform across the state. For example, over the last 10 years, Indiana’s total student population has experienced a 5% increase. During that time, Hamilton Southeastern School’s student population has increased by 114%, Franklin Township has experienced a 68% increase and Middlebury’s student population is up 27%. Under the current funding formula, however, this population increase is not considered. In fact, the per pupil funding amounts that some growing school corporations receive have decreased. For example, Hamilton Southeastern Schools will experience a loss of $61 per pupil when comparing 2009 to 2011.

The plaintiffs in the case are the school corporations along with parents and their children from all three school corporations. The defendants in the case are Indiana’s Governor, the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and Chairman of the State Board of Education, the Indiana State Board of Education and the State of Indiana.