This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1065912907308097v1 61/2/333    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Roch, C. H. Articles by Howard, R. M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

State Policy Innovation in Perspective

Courts, Legislatures, and Education Finance Reform

Georgia State University, Atlanta

Robert M. Howard

Georgia State University, Atlanta

Why and when courts will change policy has been the subject of significant scholarly attention, but there has been little effort to integrate this research within the existing research of determinants of state legislative policy change. In this article, the authors incorporate both of these research areas to answer the question of whether policy change will occur through the legislature or through the courts, examining the important issue of education finance reform. To understand and predict this change, the authors characterize the state policy environment as consisting of political, legal, and strategic factors. The authors find that a combination of political and strategic factors influences legislatures and the courts, but that law matters greatly to the courts, particularly state constitutional education clauses. The authors also find that institutional structure influences the degree to which politics matters to the courts.

Key Words: state policy change • state courts • education finance reform

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?