Kansas Supreme Court justices listen to a case on Jan. 29, 2014, in Topeka.

Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments May 10 to determine whether the school funding equity bill that Gov. Sam Brownback signed this week meets the Kansas Constitution’s requirement for equitable funding.

In an order released Friday morning, the court said it was putting the case on an expedited schedule. The court has threatened to order the closure of the state’s entire public school system if lawmakers fail to enact a constitutional funding mechanism by July 1.

Many lawmakers had been hoping for a faster schedule than that. They are currently on a five-week spring break, and they had hoped to have a decision in hand by the time they return April 27.

But the schedule announced by the court means it will be another two weeks after that before justices even hear arguments in the case, and it’s possible a decision won’t be issued until after lawmakers adjourn.

That would mean if the court rejects the Legislature’s plan, lawmakers may have to come back again before the scheduled “sine die” ceremony ending the 2016 session on June 1. Or, if the court takes longer than that, lawmakers could be called back into special session.

The bill lawmakers passed redistributes about $40 million in so-called equalization aid for school districts, money the state spends to subsidize capital outlay funds and local option budgets in order to hold down property taxes in less wealthy districts.

In its order, the court made clear that the burden of proof will be on the state to demonstrate that the new law complies with the Constitution and the court’s previous orders.

Republican leaders in the Legislature say they believe it does, and they are urging the court to give deference to the Legislature’s decision.

But attorneys for the plaintiffs in the school funding lawsuit say the bill only makes the equity problems worse, and they are urging the court to reject it.