School leaders from some of North Carolina’s poorest counties are heading back to the state Supreme Court, demanding answers after a landmark ruling essentially erased nearly a decade of progress in a 32-year-old funding battle.
Six school boards, including those from Hoke and Halifax counties, have filed a petition for a limited rehearing of the court's April 2nd decision.
That split, 4-to-3 ruling vacated every Leandro-related order issued since 2017, with the Republican majority arguing that lower courts lacked the jurisdiction to order statewide funding changes. Lawyers for the school boards say the high court’s conclusion suggests it usurped power by shutting down the case without addressing the constitutional rights of the students involved.
The boards are now asking the justices to clarify if the case is truly dead—or if they can still seek a remedy for students in their specific districts who they say are still being denied a sound, basic education.
The Supreme Court has 30 days to decide whether it will revisit the opinion.
