The majority has heaped upon the General Assembly a monumental task with little
guidance. It is confronted with a necessity to create a new system of common
schools without being told specifically what is wrong with the old one. The majority
has not declared any specific statute unconstitutional and, in effect, I think has
condoned the continuation of a system which, in all likelihood, will not result in equal
educational opportunity throughout the Commonwealth.
There is now imposed a requirement that the system be adequately funded, but no
specific standards have been established to determine the adequacy of funding.
Instead, it is held that the school system must be funded adequately so as to
achieve seven goals, each of which is expressed in the most general terms. Those
goals are: "to provide each and every child with at least the seven following
capacities: (i) sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to
function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization; (ii) sufficient knowledge of
economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to make informed
choices; (iii) sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the
student to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation;
(iv) sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical
wellness; (v) sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his
or her cultural and historical heritage; (vi) sufficient training or preparation for
advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to
choose and pursue life work intelligently; and (vii) sufficient levels of academic or
vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their
counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market."
How will the General Assembly be able to know if the legislation it enacts will provide
each and every student throughout the Commonwealth with a sufficient grounding in
the arts to enable that student to appreciate his cultural or historical heritage? This
goal, like the other seven, is so vague that regardless of what legislation is enacted
by the General Assembly the door has been opened for another group or groups of
students to sue the General Assembly ad infinitum, claiming that in some respects
the General Assembly has failed to provide a system of common schools which
achieves the seven goals of an efficient system. I fear it will be the courts rather
than the General Assembly, which will end up monitoring the common school
system.
I am willing to declare, on the basis of this record, that the system of common
schools throughout the state does not meet the constitutional imperative of
substantially equal educational opportunity for all children. I would go no further. It
is the duty of the General Assembly to abide by its constitutional responsibility, but
in my opinion, because of the failure to name all of the members of the General
Assembly as parties to this action, and to serve them with process or otherwise
secure their appearance, we are powerless at this time and in this litigation to
mandate any action on the part of the General Assembly or to place the school
system in limbo absent some legislative action.
LEIBSON, Justice, dissenting.
Respectfully, I dissent.
I agree in principle with the majority's opinion that the General Assembly has failed
thus far to, "by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common
schools throughout the State." [FN1] Ky. Const., ?183. Nevertheless, this case should
be reversed and dismissed because it does not present an "actual" or "justiciable"
controversy. See KRS 418.040; Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed. 1979, p. 777.
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