Law professor gives high grades to court ruling

? Kansas University law professor Richard Levy gives the recent Kansas Supreme Court opinion on school funding good grades for style and substance.

“I was struck by the fact that the court wrote a short opinion that didn’t explain all the reasons for its results in order to give the Legislature room to work in the coming session,” said Levy, whose expertise is constitutional law.

On Monday, the Kansas Supreme Court said the Legislature’s funding of public schools falls short of the State Constitution’s mandate to provide “suitable” finance for education.

Levy described the 10-page opinion as something of a “throwback” because modern legal opinions tend to be long and detailed.

“What the Kansas Supreme Court is trying to do is put the ball back in the Legislature’s court,” he said.

Levy said the plaintiff school districts were the winners in this case, but how the Legislature addresses the issue will become the bottom line.

“The decision is a victory for public education, but it may be a loss for welfare, or farm supports or higher education where there isn’t a constitutional mandate,” he said.