Lawsuit Claims Inadequate School Funding in Indiana

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http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4795977

By Jim Shella
24-Hour News 8

Should the state of Indiana spend more money on education? That's the charge in a lawsuit filed Thursday morning.

The Indiana State Teachers Association is suing the state on behalf of students in Indianapolis and three other cities, but they hope to make it a class action lawsuit on behalf of every public school student in the state.

They say that the school funding formula doesn't provide enough money to give students a fair chance to learn. They argue that students deserve smaller classrooms and programs that include foreign languages and full day kindergarten. Similar suits led to more school funding in states including Massachusetts, and a Boston attorney filed this one.

"We have too many children being unsuccessful in school. We have an achievement gap that is extraordinarily high that has persisted and must be corrected," said ISTA attorney Michael Wiseman. "So the resources are not adequate."