What is adequacy litigation?
Advocates of increased school funding have argued that even if spending is equitable across districts, it may not be enough to ensure that all students reach the state’s achievement standards. This is the adequacy argument. “Adequacy is an approach to school funding that begins with the premise that the amount of funding schools receive should be based on some estimate of the cost of achieving the state’s educational goals,” writes Diane Ravitch in Edspeak: A glossary of education terms, phrases, buzzwords, and jargon (ASCD 2007). “This approach attempts to answer two questions: How much money would be enough to achieve those goals, and where would it be best spent” (2007). Ultimately, Ravitch points out, the courts and state legislatures will decide how much money is enough. Source: Ravitch, D. (2007). Edspeak : A glossary of education terms, phrases, buzzwords, and jargon. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Q: How does “adequacy” differ from “equi
