''Serrano v. Priest'' refers to three cases regarding the financing of public schools in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

that were decided by the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

: ''Serrano v. Priest'', (1971) (''Serrano I''); ''Serrano v. Priest'', (1976) (''Serrano II''); and ''Serrano v. Priest'', (1977) (''Serrano III'').

The Serrano cases

Serrano I (1971)

Initiated in 1968 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, ''Serrano v. Priest'' (John Serrano was a parent of one of several Los Angeles public school students; Ivy Baker Priest was the

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. 34 individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumb ...

at the time) set forth three causes of action (quotes from the decision). # " sa direct result of the financing scheme they are required to pay a higher tax rate than axpayersin many other school districts in order to obtain for their children the same or lesser educational opportunities afforded children in those other districts." # "

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

an actual controversy has arisen and now exists between the parties as to the validity and constitutionality of the financing scheme under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and under the California Constitution." In an opinion by Justice Raymond L. Sullivan, the Court agreed with the plaintiffs, largely on equal-protection grounds, and returned the case to the trial court for further proceedings. As Sullivan summarizes, "We are called upon to determine whether the California public school financing system, with its substantial dependence on local property taxes and resultant wide disparities in school revenue, violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. We have determined that this funding scheme invidiously discriminates against the poor because it makes the quality of a child's education a function of the wealth of his parents and neighbors. Recognizing as we must that the right to an education in our public schools is a fundamental interest which cannot be conditioned on wealth, we can discern no compelling state purpose necessitating the present method of financing. We have concluded, therefore, that such a system cannot withstand constitutional challenge and must fall before the equal protection clause."

Serrano II (1976)

In '' San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez'' (1973), the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

reversed a similar decision by a Texas District Court, which, like ''Serrano I,'' had been decided on Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection grounds. In ''Serrano I'', however, the California Supreme Court had relied in addition on California's constitution, and in ''Serrano II'' they affirmed that basis, protecting the ''Serrano'' decisions from ''Rodriguez''.{{Cite journal , last=Jimenez-Castellanos , first=Oscar , last2=Picus , first2=Lawrence O. , date=2022-03-24 , title=Serrano v. Priest 50th Anniversary: Origins, Impact and Future , url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byu_elj/vol2021/iss2/2/ , journal=BYU Education & Law Journal , volume=2021 , issue=2 , issn=1930-5281 The ''Serrano II'' decision also held that the legislative response to ''Serrano I'' was insufficient, and affirmed the trial court's order requiring that wealth-based funding disparities between district be reduced to less than $100 by 1980.

Serrano III (1977)

''Serrano III'' dealt primarily with attorneys' fees, but in passing affirmed the trial court's response to the ''Serrano II'' decision, including a six-year timetable for bringing the funding system into compliance.

Proposition 13

The

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

's response to ''Serrano I'' and ''Serrano II'' was significantly constrained by the passage of

Proposition 13 Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process, to cap property taxes and limit property reassessmen ...

in 1978, which reduced property-tax revenues and imposed a 2/3-majority vote requirement for statewide tax increases. The initial property-tax-based solution was replaced by a funding scheme that relied more heavily on state (as opposed to district) revenue, which has remained in effect, with occasional adjustments, ever since.

Compliance (1983)

In 1983, the Los Angeles County Superior Court found, on remand, that the requirements of ''Serrano II'' had been sufficiently met, allowing a relatively small number of residual districts to retain a higher level of funding, based on well-above-average local property taxes.

References

External links

via FindLaw

via FindLaw

via FindLaw Public education in California Education finance in the United States Economic inequality in the United States Taxation and redistribution Supreme Court of California case law United States education case law 1971 in United States case law 1976 in United States case law Los Angeles Unified School District Law articles needing an infobox