Opinion ID: 1113751
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: adequate educational opportunity

Text: Plaintiffs in this lawsuit presented evidence related not only to whether existing educational facilities, programs and services in Alabama's public schools are equitable, but also to whether these facilities, programs and services are adequate. Adequacy connotes sufficiency for a purpose or requirement. This Court is not empowered to determine whether the Alabama education system is sufficient to meet standards or achieve purposes that the Court might itself prefer. But the essence of plaintiffs' adequacy claim is that the state education system fails to meet the standards or achieve the purposes of public education mandated by the Alabama Constitution. Leading state and national education experts testified at trial that the Alabama school system is not providing students with an adequate education. For example, Dr. Barton, the state official most familiar with the instructional services provided in the public schools, told the Court that the level of spending on education in Alabama is inadequate. Dr. Alexander testified at trial that Alabama's poorer school systems are among the lowest spending systems in the nation, and include some of the worst schools in the country, some of which he referred to as second world facilities. And, as noted supra, Dr. Ross said that the conditions in the low wealth schools he saw in Alabama were the worst he had seen in his travels to schools across the United States. Consistent with these opinions and based on the evidence discussed below, the Court agrees with plaintiffs that the public school system provides constitutionally inadequate educational opportunity to Alabama schoolchildren. The plaintiffs allege that the Alabama schools are inadequate in both absolute and relative terms. Plaintiffs argue that Alabama schools are inadequate in the absolute sense whether measured by: (1) state and regional accreditation standards; (2) substantive Alabama educational standards, such as those set out in the Alabama Education Improvement Act, Performance-Based Accreditation, and the Plan for Excellence, described infra; or (3) indicators recognized by state officials as appropriate measures of school quality, such as drop-out rates, college-level remediation rates, and the extent to which students are prepared for the workforce. Plaintiffs maintain that Alabama's schools are inadequate in the relative sense in terms of overall school funding in this state as compared with funding for educational systems in other states. Such comparisons have also been adopted by state officials as measures of educational adequacy. The Court will address the absolute and relative adequacy of Alabama's school system in turn. The first indicator of absolute educational adequacy pointed to by plaintiffs is accreditationthat is, official certification that Alabama schools meet certain professionally recognized minimum standardswhich schools may secure from two different sources: the Alabama Department of Education [25] and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a respected private regional accreditation body that promulgates standards and reviews schools throughout the South. Alabama Department of Education standards obviously represent state-sanctioned criteria for schools. The Court finds, further, that state officials, including Governor Hunt himself, have set Southern Association accreditation as an additional indicator of adequacy. [26] Governor Hunt testified in this lawsuit that, to be adequate, each school should measure up to the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. See Hunt Deposition at 35. Dr. Anita Buckley-Commander, the Governor's chief education advisor, also testified that schools that do not meet the standards for accreditation of the state and the Southern Association are not adequate. However, many Alabama schools in fact do come up short under these professionally recognized standards. Choctaw County Superintendent Toreatha Johnson testified at trial that six of the eight schools in Choctaw County are not accredited by the Southern Association, and that the Choctaw County system does not have sufficient funds to make improvements necessary to bring these schools up to accreditation standards. Other systems that contain schools not accredited by the Southern Association include Macon County, Marengo County, Mobile County, Tallapoosa County, Decatur City, Bibb County, Opelika City, Hale County, DeKalb County, and Perry County. In Lee County, not a single school is accredited by the Southern Association. In addition, many students in the state attend public schools that do not meet the state's own accreditation standards. According to the State Department of Education's 1990-91 Annual Status Report, five of Lowndes County's eight public schools, and five of the seven Wilcox County schools (including the county's only high school), are not accredited by the state. Choctaw County Superintendent Johnson testified at trial that six of the eight schools in that county are not approved by the state (the same six that are not accredited by the Southern Association). Further, many other systems throughout the state have at least some schools that are not state-accredited, including Mobile County, Decatur City, Monroe County, Bibb County, DeKalb County, Opelika City, and Perry County. Plaintiffs also demonstrated at trial that many Alabama schools are unable to meet other substantive state education standards. One source of these standards is the Alabama Education Improvement Act, 1991 Ala. Acts 323, an education reform statute recently enacted by the legislature and signed by Governor Hunt, but never funded. [27] Governor Hunt and Dr. Buckley-Commander testified that they view the Act as necessary for Alabama schools to provide an adequate education, see Hunt Deposition at 83; thus, both sides agree that this Act provides a meaningful reference point for assessing minimal educational adequacy. The Alabama Education Improvement Act includes requirements for Performance-Based Accreditation, a revised method of state accreditation of schools adopted by the State Board of Education. See 1991 Ala. Acts 323 at 619-24. An additional source of qualitative state standards for Alabama public schools is the Plan for Excellence, a blueprint for improvement of Alabama's schools developed by the State Department of Education in 1984. The Plan for Excellence was commended by the Legislature at the time of its promulgation. Each of these state documents represents an acknowledgement of the present inadequacy of Alabama schools by the state and speaks of the need for major, structural change according to the standards and requirements outlined therein. The Alabama Education Improvement Act states that [a]ttainment of these goals will require a serious reexamination of every aspect of Alabama's education system and some profound changes in our public schools. Id. at 607. Performance-based accreditation is presented as a major change in the way accreditation historically has been obtained. The Alabama Performance-Based Accreditation System Manual at 4. The State Department of Education, in introducing the Plan for Excellence, indicated that its analyses of problems and recommendations for addressing these problems are extensive, touching on almost every area of public elementary and secondary education. Plan for Excellence at 8. Although all three of these plans for bringing the Alabama schools toward adequacy have been duly adopted by the State Department of Education or the legislature, testimony at trial indicated that funding has not been provided to implement any of them. According to both Dr. Barton and Dr. Buckley-Commander, not a single school system in the state currently meets all of the requirements of Performance-Based Accreditation. For example, in one school system, no students obtained adequate or proficient scores on the most recent Algebra I exam, which is part of the performance component of Performance-Based Accreditation. The Court finds, based on this evidence and that set out below, that Alabama schools today fall far short of the very educational standards that the state of Alabama has determined are basic to providing its schoolchildren with minimally adequate educational opportunities. School facilities are one clear area of deficiency. The Alabama Education Improvement Act requires that all public schools [p]rovide acceptable facilities conducive to an effective teaching and learning environment, including safe buildings having adequate space, heating and air conditioning, restroom facilities and sanitary conditions. 1991 Ala. Acts 323 at 620. The Performance-Based Accreditation standards require all schools to provide appropriate facilities and equipment necessary to reach instructional objectives, because [t]eachers cannot be effective teachers and students cannot attain expected levels of achievement if facilities are inadequate and equipment is inappropriate or non-existent. Performance-Based Accreditation Standard (hereinafter, Performance ) at 1C. Similarly, the Plan for Excellence says that school bathrooms must be sanitary, playgrounds must be safe, classrooms must be well heated and cooled, roofs must be kept in good repair, and deficiencies in facilities should be surveyed and corrected. Plan for Excellence (hereinafter, Excellence ) at 91. Students cannot be expected to concentrate on learning when the temperature is dangerously hot or cold or with the distractions of leaking roofs. Id. Southern Association standards for facilities are consistent with the Alabama standards, requiring that schools provide appropriate classrooms that are spacious, safe, functional ... and appropriately equipped for varied instructional programs. Southern Association Standards for Elementary and Middle Schools (hereinafter, Southern Elementary ) at 32. The standards call for appropriate library and media spaces see, e.g., Southern Association Secondary School Standards (hereinafter, Southern Secondary ) at 21, attractive landscap[ing], id. at 19-20, and maintenance service that provides systematic repair and care of the site, buildings and equipment. Id. at 22. Governor Hunt himself has agreed that schools in serious states of disrepair are not conducive to learning, see Hunt Deposition at 67-68, and has said that education in portable classrooms is intolerable if it lasts for any extended period of time. Id. at 66. He said further in deposition that leaking roofs in school buildings can cause disruption and are not conducive to learning. Id. at 108. The Court heard striking evidence that these basic, common-sense standards are not met in many school facilities across Alabama. A 1990 Department of Education study, for example, reported that many Alabama school buildings are old and dilapidated, and that over 555 school buildings in use at the time of the study were 50 years old or older. In Choctaw County, Superintendent Johnson testified at trial, four of the system's eight schools have main buildings that are more than 60 years old. There is a serious shortage of classroom space throughout the state. The State Department's Summary of Capital Needs found that more than 3,500 additional regular classrooms are needed. According to Dr. Barton and other witnesses, this shortage means that, in many Alabama schools, spaces inappropriate for teaching or learning are pressed into service as classrooms. For example, Jesse Todd, principal of Shiloh Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County, testified at trial that one math class at his school meets in a vocational education building in which the din of power tools sometimes drowns out their lessons. At times, the teacher told students to wear radios with headphones to muffle the noise. Similarly, in Roanoke's Handley Middle School, a State Department of Education needs assessment team found that two classes were meeting in temporary classrooms set up in the school's auditorium. The school also had two small basement classrooms that were totally unacceptable for instructional purposes. A Department of Education report found that over 2,200 portable classrooms are in use throughout the state. Superintendent Johnson testified at trial that Choctaw County had 56 temporary portable classrooms, some of which have been in place for more than 20 years. Superintendent Johnson testified that the Gilbertown school in Choctaw County is almost entirely made up of portable classrooms today, because a fire destroyed most of the permanent classroom space in the school and for some time there has not been enough money to rebuild it. The evidence at trial also showed that many schools in Alabama lack basic facilities such as science, computer, and language laboratories. For example, Homer Williams, principal of Monroe Senior High School in Monroe County, testified that his high school does not have a single science laboratory. The only science laboratory at Tipton Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County was condemned and not replaced. Some schools also do not have such essential facilities as auditoriums, gymnasiums, and playgrounds. For example, three of the schools in Dallas County do not have physical education facilities, and five of the eight schools in Choctaw County do not have gymnasiums. Alberta Elementary School in Wilcox County does not have a single piece of working playground equipment; the swing set has no swings, the seesaw has no board, and there is broken glass strewn around the playground. [28] This is the school mentioned earlier at which Dr. Ross observed children pretending to play on swings even though there were no real swings in the swing set. No elementary school in the Choctaw County school system, and no school of any kind in the Dallas County school system, has an auditorium. Some schools in Alabama are too poorly lit for proper learning. Both Lisman and Shady Grove schools in Choctaw County have classrooms without lights. A number of Alabama's school buildings have serious structural and maintenance problems. An assessment team that inspected the Handley Middle School in Roanoke recommended that the entire school building be demolished. The Alberta Elementary School's septic tank was condemned because of frequent backups and overflows. The school's main ball field was contaminated with human waste that drained from the septic tank which was visible in the form of large dark spots on the field. The fields surrounding the W.J. Jones School in Wilcox County were also contaminated with raw sewage from a malfunctioning septic tank. The children used to use the field in spite of the sewage, according to the affidavit submitted by one teacher. [29] We could smell the odor of the sewage inside the classroom. Although the situation at W.J. Jones is extreme, Dr. Ross testified that he observed safety and health hazards such as beer cans and bottles and broken glass on the grounds of many schools he visited. Even as basic an item as potable water is not available in all of Alabama's schools. At the John Essex School in Marengo County, the drinking water has a terrible chemical taste and is undrinkable, according to one parent, who stated in an affidavit that she sent her children to school with bottled water. Teachers at the Essex School tell the students to wait to drink the water until the end of the day because it is so highly chlorinated. Similarly, at the W.J. Jones Elementary School in Wilcox County, the water is sometimes too chlorinated to drink. In Macon County, Choctaw County, Dallas County, and many other school systems, leaking roofs are a constant problem. It is common for schools to place trash cans under these leaks to collect water that pours into the schools. In one school, leaking roofs caused classrooms to flood and destroyed maps and charts. A teacher at this school reported, [s]o far we have avoided any accidents resulting from children slipping on wet floors or tripping over the rain-filled trash cans by carefully monitoring the children but she believed that the roof leaks could be a hazard to the children's safety. Testimony at trial also indicated that in many school systems there is insufficient maintenance staff to keep the buildings clean. For example, Morris Moody, the principal of West Blocton High School in Bibb County, had only one maintenance person at his school which has an enrollment of more than 500 students. The record contains numerous accounts of unsanitary bathrooms. The restrooms at the Tipton Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County school [o]ften ... smell because they are not cleaned, according to affidavit testimony of one teacher at the school. At one school in Tuscaloosa, an inspection committee found that one trough type [urinal] is in a deplorable state and looks to be absolutely unhealthy. In Choctaw County, human excrement has soaked into the wooden floors at one school, creating a horrible stench. Many Alabama schools have broken windows and other unremedied maintenance problems. At W.J. Jones Elementary School, there are broken windows that are never fixed or replaced. Many of Choctaw County's schools have old windows whose panes fall out, sometimes during instructional time. Elementary students in Tuscaloosa have been injured more than once because of broken windows. Further, a number of schools in Alabama are infested with termites and other insects. At one Wilcox County school, termites have eaten through library books and shelves, classroom shelves, and school records in the principal's office. The library at Tipton Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County is also infested by termites, which have ruined many books and shelves, and Tipton also has problems with rat and ant infestation. Alberta Elementary School in Wilcox County has fire ants, which come up through the concrete floor and range throughout the building. Although most Alabama schools are in session in August, not all classrooms are air conditioned. None of the classrooms in the main building at the Alberta School, for example, have air conditioning. Superintendent Johnson testified that Choctaw County cannot afford to air condition all of the classrooms in the county, so the Board of Education passed a resolution allowing teachers who could do so to buy their own window units, which they take with them when they change classrooms. Dr. Ross testified that he observed one class in which the teacher did not turn on the window unit, despite the heat, because the noise was worse than the heat. Governor Hunt suggests that not all schools have problems this extreme, but he concedes that the school system has fallen into serious disrepair in many places. Hunt Deposition at 65. He admits that the school system as a whole has great capital needs in many systems. Id. at 69. He admits that many students in Alabama are attending schools in deteriorating buildings. Id. at 65. School curriculum is another area in which the Alabama school system fails to meet state standards. The Education Improvement Act calls for all high school students to have four years of science and mathematics, and for all students to achieve computer literacy. See 1991 Ala. Acts 323 at 613, 628. The Act says that [i]t is the intent of the legislature that, in addition to the required courses, elective courses including but not limited to foreign languages, fine arts, physical education, [and] vocational and technical preparation, be available to all students. See id. at 614. Performance-Based Accreditation contains similar curriculum guidelines, requiring that all students have equal access [30] to broad and varied curricular offerings in grades K-8, including art, music, computer education, and physical education. See Performance at 4D. Another standard mandates that all students in elementary grades receive instruction in art and music from teachers certified in those subjects, and that in all other grades visual arts, music and other arts must be offered as electives. See id. at 13D. Further, Performance-Based Accreditation requires that all students have the opportunity to pursue any diploma offered by the Board of Education, including the college-preparatory advanced diploma. See id. at 5D. Similarly, the Plan for Excellence prescribes that all students in the state have the opportunity to pursue the advanced diploma, see Excellence at 44, and calls for schools to offer instructional programs in creative writing, foreign language, advanced mathematics, science, art, music, and drama. See id. at 43. Governor Hunt, as noted earlier, testified that state schools should meet the standards set by the Alabama Education Improvement Act, which includes curriculum standards, to provide an adequate education. Defendant concedes, more specifically, that education that does not include the opportunity to pursue the advanced diploma is inadequate. See Hunt Deposition at 55. He admits that students are disadvantaged if they do not have access to algebra, physics, biology, or science laboratories, see id. at 75-76, and he acknowledges that computer skills are fundamental. Id. at 74. The Court finds, based on the evidence adduced at trial, that the curriculum offered in Alabama's public schools fails, in many cases, to meet state standards. A comprehensive State Department of Education assessment of all 129 Alabama school systems reported recently that what is missing and what is needed are the resources and services that could give the children of Alabama a competitive edge, including computer education, music courses, art courses, enrichment programs, advanced science and mathematics courses, foreign language courses, [and] remedial programs for those in need. As discussed above, a significant number of high schools in the state are not able to offer the advanced diploma, which indicates successful completion of a college preparatory program, and which diploma will be required (or its course equivalent) diploma for admission to the University of Alabama beginning in 1995. Some Alabama schools are not able to offer the most basic courses. The evidence showed that at Monroe Senior High School in Monroe County, the highest level courses in the math and science curriculum are algebra I and general science; algebra II, trigonometry, calculus, chemistry and physics are not available. In Dallas County, one high school alternates offering chemistry and physics because of a lack of resources. No school in the Dallas County or Roanoke City school systems offers calculus. Foreign language offerings are limited across the state. In the Dallas County school system, French is the only language offered and there are not enough spaces for all of the students who want to take it. No foreign language class is offered anywhere in the Choctaw County system, except for a satellite video class in Japanese; French and Spanish, which were once taught in some schools there, cannot be funded. Many schools are not able to offer art, music or drama classes, including, for example, all schools in Monroe and Choctaw County, although there are students talented in these areas who would benefit from the classes. There is no music program at three of four high schools in Marengo County. Shiloh Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County is also unable to offer art, music or drama courses. Shiloh teacher Juanita Brown stated in an affidavit that the only way that students are exposed to these things is if the teachers bring them into the system at their own expense. In some schools, there is no enriched curriculum of any kind. Superintendent Johnson testified at trial that there are no gifted programs for students in Choctaw County, although a test has identified students who would be eligible if the system could afford to provide such programs. Plaintiffs also introduced evidence at trial that state staffing standards are not met in many school systems. Performance-Based Accreditation requires that class sizes not exceed a number that allows the teacher to manage the instructional program and assure that course objectives are met by each student, and sets maximum class sizes ranging from 25 to 35. See Performance at ID. It mandates that all students have equal access to instructional support services including counseling and guidance, library media, and health related services. See id. at 12D. It requires, further, that each school have a library media specialist, and one aide or technician per 500 students or major fraction thereof. See id. at 17D. Performance-Based Accreditation also provides that schools must employ support staff sufficient to ensure a safe and clean environment. See id. at 2B. It requires that each school maintain a comprehensive staff development program ... to ensure continuous growth for all personnel. See id. at 3B. Governor Hunt, again, has acknowledged that the Alabama Education Improvement Act, which includes staffing standards, provides a touchstone for educational adequacy. He has said that better teachers provide students with a better opportunity to obtain an adequate education, see Hunt Deposition at 64, and expressed the view that Alabama must raise its salaries in order to attract and retain better teachers. See id. at 63. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Alabama schools have serious shortages of educational staff. Dr. Ross' team found that in the lower wealth systems they observed, the largest class size averaged 37.6 at the elementary and high school levels. Lawrence County Superintendent DeWayne Key testified that some schools in Lawrence County have classes with more than 40 students. In Dallas County, class sizes exceed 35 students and some teachers teach more than 150 students in a day. In one school in Barbour County, the pupil-teacher ratio in the first grade was 43:1. Many schools lack full-time, or even part-time, librarians. In Dr. Ross' study, 37.5 percent of the low wealth schools examined had no full-time librarian; 8.3 percent of low wealth schools had no librarian at all. Of the less affluent elementary schools studied, 50 percent lacked a full-time librarian, and 25 percent had no librarian. Superintendent Johnson testified that there are no librarians in any of the K-8 schools in Choctaw County, which rely on parents and other volunteers to keep their libraries open. W.J. Jones Elementary School has no librarian, and its library is only open several hours a week when two Catholic nuns volunteer. The Alberta Elementary School also has no librarian. Many schools have no guidance counselors, or fewer than are needed to serve their students adequately as prescribed in state standards. The evidence showed that at Bibb County High School, there is one guidance counselor for 670 students. The approximately 364 students at Shiloh Elementary/Middle School have only a part-time counselor, who also works at another school. The students at Shiloh need more counseling than is available at the school, according to one teacher at the school. Needs assessment audits report that there are substantial unmet counseling needs in the Tuscaloosa City school system. W.J. Jones Elementary School in Wilcox County has a single guidance counselor who comes to the school only one day a week. Two schools in Choctaw County share a guidance counselor, and one school has none at all. A number of Alabama schools have no physical education teachers. Further, health care in Alabama's public schools is limited. Charlene McKaig, an associate professor of nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, testified that there are fewer than 200 school nurses employed in the entire state for a student population exceeding 700,000 students. In some cases, she testified, this means that students attend school without basic health screenings. The clinic in Choctaw County that performed health screening for students has closed. No school nurse serves the general school population in the entire Wilcox County system. The Court heard evidence that many Alabama schools have insufficient maintenance staff. As already discussed, this presents health and safety problems, and also compels principals, teachers, and students to take time away from the educational program to clean school buildings. At Bibb County High School, principal John Pratt and his teachers spend a lot of time cleaning up the school after hours. The Tipton School in Dallas County employs only one janitor working for two hours each day, who is able to clean only the hallways; teachers and teacher aides must do the remaining cleaning. Some teachers, who are responsible by default for dusting, mopping, sweeping, and waxing the floors of their classrooms, personally pay the janitor for custodial work. Parents cleaned the entire W.J. Jones Elementary School last year, including the bathrooms. Likewise, Choctaw County parents have cleaned bathrooms, made drapes and shades, varnished floors, and sanded desks; one parent cleaned the restrooms herself in her child's school four times in a single year. The Court also heard testimony that many Alabama schools fail to meet state textbook standards. The Education Improvement Act requires all schools to provide adequate textbooks to all students. See 1991 Ala. Acts 323 at 621. The Plan for Excellence declares that the textbook is perhaps the most important learning tool in the classroom and that [u]p-to-date textbooks must be provided, and adequate numbers of books should be available to all students. See Excellence at 48. The Plan for Excellence calls for homework to be required in every subject area. See id. at 30. Governor Hunt acknowledged, in response to plaintiffs' requests for admissions, that a lack of adequate, up-to-date textbooks may adversely affect a student's ability to learn and achieve. He agreed that students are at an educational disadvantage if they are required to share textbooks or cannot take textbooks home. See Hunt Deposition at 76. The Court finds, based on trial testimony, that the Alabama school system does not provide students with adequate access to textbooks. State Superintendent Wayne Teague testified that the state's free textbook program is underfunded, and that funds allocated for textbooks for grades one to twelve run out by the eighth grade. Dr. Barton testified that there are school systems in Alabama in which the supply of textbooks ranges from inadequate to woefully inadequate. Some Alabama schools cannot afford to purchase enough textbooks for every student to have his or her own. For example, at the John Essex School in Marengo County two or three students had to share a single social studies textbook. In high school physics, there were not enough new textbooks for all students so at least one student had to use a different text that was out-of-date. In other counties, scarce textbooks must remain in the classroom, and students cannot take them home to read or do homework. Students may be required to buy their own textbooks in elective courses, since the schools spend their limited textbook money on required courses first. In some schools, a shortage of textbooks means that students are not assigned homework. And some classes are conducted entirely without textbooks. Although new textbooks may be due in some courses according to the State Department of Education's regular textbook cycle, some systems cannot afford to purchase them. Choctaw County employs some social studies books that date to the Carter Administration, and textbooks are in use at the Bibb County High School that are outdated by as much as 15 years. Some textbooks that are available are in unacceptable condition. A teacher at Shiloh Elementary/Middle School in Dallas County stated in an affidavit that when she taught fifth and sixth grade, she was ashamed to give some of the science and social studies textbooks to the children; they were falling apart and had masking tape holding them together. There were often pages missing. Schools may assign less expensive paperbacks meant to supplement textbooks as substitutes for the actual textbooks. Although these supplemental books are intended to be consumed in the course of the school year, children are in some cases prevented from writing in them so that the books can be reused. Plaintiffs, further, presented evidence that many Alabama schools are deficient in supplies and equipment. The Education Improvement Act requires that all public schools must provide adequate resources for instruction ... including ... instructional supplies. 1991 Ala.Acts 323 at 621. The Act calls for all elementary schools to have approved science laboratory facilities for the proper teaching of elementary science courses. See id. Similarly, Performance-Based Accreditation requires that all schools be properly equipped, providing [a]dequate material, equipment, and supplies. See Performance at 1C. The Plan for Excellence states that [f]unds should be provided at a significantly increased rate for the purchase of needed classroom materials, including books, audiovisual instructional materials and the new technology. Excellence at 76. It further says that [a]ll the supplies and equipment needed to promote excellence in education should be available in every school so that teachers can do the very best teaching job possible, id. at 76, and notes specifically that the teacher should not be expected to make personal expenditures in order to provide instructional aids for students. Id. at 75. Governor Hunt has himself admitted that teachers should not have to spend their own money on classroom supplies, see Hunt Deposition at 61, and that they must have the tools necessary to teach. See id. at 62. Governor Hunt has agreed that a shortage of desks and chairs in a classroom can be disruptive to the educational process, see id. at 105, and that lack of access to library books can affect achievement. See id. at 78. He has also said that instances of parents having to send toilet paper and other necessities to school with their children must be brought to an end. See id. at 62. The Court finds that supplies and equipment in many Alabama public schools do not meet minimally adequate standards. The Plan for Excellence declares that [m]aterials provided to Alabama's classrooms are woefully inadequate. Excellence at 17. Students at some schools are asked to bring soap and towels to school with them. Dr. Ross' study found that a significant number of low wealth systems lacked toilet paper, soap, and paper towels. Other important instructional supplies necessary for a minimally adequate education are also not available in many Alabama public schools. All the students at one elementary and middle school must share two microscopes, which were bought with money raised by teachers. One teacher stated in an affidavit that when she taught sixth grade science at this school, she had to show students a picture of a microscope because none were available for use. In Choctaw County, audiovisual equipment, manipulables, and computers are scarce and there are no science laboratories, few microscopes, and only two bunsen burners in the entire county. In Wilcox County, W.J. Jones Elementary School has no general-use computers, and Camden Middle School has only one computer for 500 students. Furniture at many schools is old and dilapidated. In one classroom in Wilcox County a table at which students sit collapsed after frequent repairs and is now held up by milk crates. In some schools, teachers scavenge for school supplies. One teacher testified that she had furnished her classroom with a discarded projector screen, card catalog, and a set of encyclopedias that she retrieved from the garbage. The encyclopedias are incomplete, very outdated, and ... falling apart, she said, but we only go to the library once a week for 45 minutes, so this encyclopedia is often our only research tool. Libraries in many schools contain old and dilapidated books. The encyclopedia at the Alberta Elementary School library dates from the 1970s. The Silas Elementary School relies on donations of books from a local paper company. Library books in some schools in Marengo and Wilcox Counties are far out-of-date. Some school libraries have no periodicals. The Court heard testimony that teachers and parents at many schools must conduct candy sales and other fundraisers to raise money for school supplies. Dr. Ross' study found that in the low wealth schools surveyed, close to 70 percent of teachers participate in school fundraising activities. Evidence showed that teachers and classes at some schools are asked to contribute $100 a year from fundraisers. Some schools have monthly candy sales, which detract from teaching time. Teachers in Alabama also expend extraordinary amounts of their own money on supplies for their classes. Dr. Ross' study found that close to 90 percent of teachers in both lower-and higher-wealth schools spend personal funds on school supplies. Teachers in Dallas County and Tuscaloosa testified that they spent from $500 to $1,400 a year of their own money on supplies including books, pens, paper, batteries, wiring and light bulbs for science projects, games, computer programs, science materials, teaching resource guides, and motivational materials. Parents are also required to raise money for items such as air conditioners in many schools. One parent's affidavit states that at East Choctaw Junior High School, a child in a wheelchair whose only exercise was crawling on the floor had no carpeted area on which to crawl because the floors were made of cement. The school had no money to carpet the floors, so the child's mother had to hold a bake and rummage sale to pay to carpet a small area for her son. Student transportation is another area in which Alabama schools fall short of standards. The Education Improvement Act requires that all school systems [c]omply with the requirements of federal and state governments and agencies and the state board of education with respect to the condition and safety of vehicles, scheduling of routes, training and licensing of drivers and load capacity of buses. 1991 Ala.Acts 323 at 620. The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that all school buses built before 1978 be removed from service. Governor Hunt has conceded that there is a need for new school buses. See Hunt Deposition at 69. He acknowledged, in response to plaintiffs' request for admissions, that as of January, 1992, Alabama schools were using 1,473 school buses built before 1978that is, buses that do not meet national safety standards. The Court also heard testimony that Alabama's school transportation system is not funded sufficiently for schools to bring their transportation programs up to standards. Dr. Teague testified at trial that in his tenure as state superintendent of education, the school transportation system has been fully funded only twice. As a result, Dr. Teague said that about 90,000 Alabama students ride buses each day that are older than the National Transportation Safety Board advises. Superintendent DeWayne Key testified that in Lawrence County, there are school buses in use with up to 300,000 miles on them that he regards as unsafe, but has no funds to replace. All but about 10 of the 52 buses in Choctaw County are 15 years old, and a significant percentage of the buses are 1970 models. Shortages of working school buses and long bus routes in some school systems lead to rides for children that are more than 100 miles and five hours long in some rural areas. Some buses must drive double routes, which also results in long waiting periods for children. Mechanical problems with buses cause students to miss substantial periods of class time. Students at one Alabama elementary school arrived at school more than an hour late for about one month, and left substantially before the end of the school day, because of a shortage of functional buses. Another elementary school asked parents to leave work and pick up their children at the roadside when one school bus broke down. In summary, the Court finds the evidence is compelling that many Alabama schools fall below standards of minimal educational adequacy for facilities, curriculum, staffing, textbooks, supplies and equipment, and transportation that have been adopted by the state itself. The Court now turns to evidence offered by plaintiffs related to several other indicators of educational inadequacy in the absolute sense: rates for school drop-outs and college remediation, and students' overall preparation for the workforce. Plaintiffs offered affidavit testimony from Dr. William Spencer, a professor at Auburn University who conducted a study on the drop-out problem in Alabama for the Governor's own Education Reform Commission, that high school students in Alabama drop-out at an extraordinarily high rate in comparison with other states. According to Dr. Spencer, Alabama ranked 49th of the 50 states in its ability to graduate students after twelve years in the public school system. He also found that 48 percent of Alabama's adult population does not have a high school diploma. Dr. Spencer testified that the failure to obtain a high school diploma has grave economic consequences for Alabama students; for example, males who do not graduate from high school will earn at least $200,000 less than those who have. Dr. Spencer's study found that Alabama's high drop-out rate is directly related to the inadequacy of the school system. It found that additional counseling, assistance with academics, and drop-out prevention programs could help reduce Alabama's drop-out rate, and that the absence of such services is the result of inadequate funding. Governor Hunt admitted the seriousness of Alabama's drop-out problem. He conceded that Alabama's drop-out rate is about 35 percent, and that it is among the highest in the nation. See Hunt Deposition at 57. The Court finds that on this measure of educational adequacy, Alabama again falls short. Plaintiffs argued that the inadequacy of Alabama schools is shown further by the high number of students who must take remedial courses when they arrive at college. James Purcell, director of matriculation and retention at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, testified at his deposition that at his school, 82 percent of incoming students must take remedial math classes, 68 percent take remedial English classes, and 64 percent take remedial reading classes. Mr. Purcell related his observation that many Alabama students are not prepared to do college-level work, which he attributed to a poor education system. The Court is cautious about making generalized findings based on the experience of a single community college. However, Shelton State's service area covers a seven-county region, including Hale, Bibb, Marengo, Sumter, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Greene Counties. Additional evidence concerning Alabama students' preparation for higher education came from Dr. Harvey, who indicated that professional schools at the University of Alabama at Birmingham must rely on out-of-state recruiting to generate sufficient numbers of qualified applicants for their programs. Further, Governor Hunt himself has testified that more than 40 percent of all of Alabama's graduating high school seniors need some kind of remediation before they can begin college-level work. See Hunt Deposition at 56. The Court agrees that this evidence confirms inadequacies previously discussed in Alabama's public school system. Similar confirmation came from trial testimony concerning Alabama students' preparation for the workforce. Dr. Malcolm Portera, vice chancellor for external affairs at the University of Alabama, testified at trial that Alabama's schools are an obstacle to attracting business to the state because of business leaders' perceptions of the inadequacy of Alabama schools and the low skills of its workforce. Dr. Portera cited as an example the decision of General Motors to locate the Saturn automobile manufacturing plant in Tennessee rather than Alabama, which he said was in part due to a poor perception of Alabama schools. In addition, Jay Garner, senior vice president of economic development for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, testified based on his experience in recruiting business and industry for Mobile that if Alabama's schools were improved the state would be better able to attract quality jobs. John Woods, the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AmSouth Bancorporation, echoed this sentiment, saying that [n]o longer are industry investors interested in a `low-skill,' `low-wage' work force. This is not a sales point for our state anymore. John W. Rouse, president and chief executive officer of Southern Research Institute, a contract research organization which provides products and services in engineering, environmental and life sciences, testified by affidavit that the growth and development of his business has been impeded by the lack of skilled labor in Alabama, and by the widely-held belief by many outside the state that Alabama has sub-standard primary and secondary education and a weak cultural/intellectual environment. Elmer B. Harris, president of Alabama Power Company, the state's principal electric utility, said that Alabama's economic development is significantly hampered by an inferior education system in the elementary and secondary grades. He testified by affidavit that [c]ompanies considering moving to Alabama are acutely aware that, at both the state and local levels, funding for education in Alabama is at or near the bottom compared to other states; that the State's work force is relatively undereducated, resulting in a shortage of skilled labor; and that quality education has been a low priority in our state. Mr. Harris indicated that some 35 percent of job applicants for a broad range of jobs at Alabama Power do not pass pre-employment tests. Similarly, R. Neal Travis, president of BellSouth Telecommunications in Alabama (South Central Bell), testified that his firm must process ten applicants to find one who is eligible for employment. Winton M. Blount, III, chairman and chief executive officer of Winton Blount and Associates, also called the quality of public education in Alabama a survival issue for business, and said that our education system in Alabama is not producing the kind of workers necessary to compete in [the] world economy. Governor Hunt conceded that Alabama's schools are producing large numbers of students who are not prepared to enter the job market, including students who cannot read. See Hunt Deposition at 58. He acknowledged, as an example, that in 1990, Gulf State Steel, a steel corporation in Gadsden, Alabama, announced that it would no longer hire local high school graduates because 70 percent tested below the 8th grade level. See id. Defendant also agreed that without an adequate education it will be difficult for Alabama schoolchildren to compete equally with people from outside Alabama who did receive an adequate education. See id. at 23. The Court finds, based on the foregoing testimony concerning a variety of measures of absolute educational adequacy, that Alabama's public schools again clearly fall short. The adequacy of Alabama schools may also be measured in relative terms, compared with other state systems. In this regard, plaintiffs focused their testimony primarily on school funding. The Alabama Department of Education compared spending on schools in Alabama with that prevailing in the nation generally, in the Southeastern states, and in Alabama's neighboring states. It concluded from these comparisons in a 1989 document called Alabama Where Do We Stand?: A Comparative View of Key Educational and Financial Statistics, that Alabama has failed to adequately finance its public school system. The study found that in 1986-87 Alabama ranked last in the Southeast and last in the nation in per capita spending on education. The report also found that Alabama ranked 11th of the 12 Southeastern states in terms of state and local revenues per pupil in average daily attendance. Updated figures from the Educational Testing Service indicate that in 1990-91, Alabama was 51st in the nation and last in the southeast in state and local revenues per pupil. Further, the State Department of Education report indicated that the funding gap between Alabama and other states has widened in the past decade, a period in which Alabama's rate of increase in spending was below that of the nation, the Southeastern states, and Alabama's contiguous states. The study concluded that Alabama is not just stagnant but actually retreating. Governor Hunt conceded that more money is needed for education. See Hunt Pre-Trial Brief at 1-2. He acknowledges that the time has come for funding education in Alabama at the proper level. See Hunt Deposition at 83-84. Based on the foregoing testimony, the Court finds that, in terms of school funding relative to other states, a measure of adequacy adopted by Alabama officials, Alabama's system of public schools has lagged far behind. Several witnesses for plaintiffs testified to the social and economic costs of the state's failure to provide adequate educational opportunities for its children. Dr. Wayne Flynt, University Professor of History and former chairman of the history department at Auburn University, called Alabama's record of investment in its public schools abysmal. Both Dr. Flynt and Dr. Harvey testified that Alabama's history is marked by decades of failure to fund its public schools adequately, all too often in this century as a result of racial conflict. According to these experts, repeated educational crises in the state have invariably been followed by a flurry of studies that recommend better funding for public schools; when these go unheeded, they are succeeded by further crises and additional studies. This cycle of failure to invest in education, according to Dr. Flynt, has denied the state the pool of talent necessary to make it competitive in the global economy (or even in the Southeast), and helped create an underclass of citizens who are either incarcerated or dependant on costly welfare, medicaid, or other government social programs. [31] Alabama's economy, in particular, has suffered as a consequence of low spending on education, according to plaintiffs' witnesses. Dr. Flynt cited a Jacksonville State University study that reviewed state educational expenditures from 1945-85, finding that the level of such expenditures correlated directly with economic growth in those years. In a study conducted in Alabama, Dr. Harold Elder, professor of economics at the University of Alabama, found a definite and consistent positive relationship between funding levels for elementary and secondary schools and state income and employment growth and concluded that greater educational support generally leads to larger incomes and higher employment. Dr. Flynt warned that the South is becoming, economically speaking, two Southsthe Gulf South and the Atlantic Southwith the former, to which Alabama belongs, experiencing a net decrease in the education of its workforce even as the latter improves the job skills of its workers. Governor Hunt disputes little of the evidence offered by plaintiffs concerning the inadequacy of public schools in this state. He does suggest in trial briefs that the problems cited by plaintiffs are confined to a few isolated school systems. See Hunt Post-Trial Brief at 3. However, defendant has admitted elsewhere that the overall quality of education [in Alabama] is inadequate. Hunt Deposition at 53-54 (emphasis added). [32] Further, according to Dr. Alexander and Dr. Goertz, even the wealthiest school systems in Alabama have unmet needs and are hardly rich compared with systems in other states. See also Motion For Leave to File Amici Curiae Brief of Mountain Brook City, Homewood City, Hoover City, and Shelby County Board of Education at 3. In any case, plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of a statewide school system; the Court finds that if inadequate educational opportunities exist in some systems, then the system as a whole must be deemed inadequate. In addition, Governor Hunt maintains that plaintiffs' criteria for `adequacy' are unreasonable, even impossible, to meet, given the state's lack of a sufficient tax base. See Hunt Post-Trial Brief at 5. However, the Court notes again that the criteria of adequacy reviewed above originate not from the plaintiffs, but from the state itself. Further, Governor Hunt presented no evidence delineating specifically the limits on the state's tax base to which he refers. In contrast, plaintiffs offered expert testimony that Alabama has substantial unused revenue capacity, that investment in education would likely generate growth in the state's tax base; and that a lack of such investment has high hidden social and economic costs, as discussed abovenone of which are directly disputed by the Governor. Thus, as a factual matter, the governor's assertion that the state cannot afford better schools is doubtful, at best; as a matter of law, it is no defense to a claim of constitutional infringement because individual rights do not obtain only when the state believes that it can afford them, as discussed infra. Governor Hunt also maintains that the `adequacy' in funding that plaintiffs seek will not solve the problems that plague Alabama's schools. Hunt Post-Trial Brief at 6. He argues that increased funding of public schools will not translate into increased student performance as measured primarily by certain standardized test scores. This argument relies on the testimony of Dr. Eric Hanushek, a University of Rochester economics professor, who offered the opinion based on his review of multiple production function studies [33] performed nationwide by educational researchers, as well as his own study using Alabama datathat there is no systematic relationship between spending on schools and student achievement. Dr. Hanushek did not testify that spending can never positively affect student achievement on tests; his point was, instead, that to date experts have been unable to measure a systematic relationship between expenditures and achievement. He concluded that school money must be spent inefficiently (that is, in ways that do not improve achievement) in this state and elsewhere. Plaintiffs countered with testimony on this point from Dr. Ronald Ferguson, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, who conducted his own analysis in Alabama and found a systematic positive correlation between student achievement and certain expenditures (that is, money spent to secure smaller class sizes above a certain threshold, teachers with more experience, and teachers who themselves had better test scores). Dr. Ferguson's Alabama study was structured differently from that of Dr. Hanushek in several important respects: (1) Dr. Ferguson did not include all school expenditures in his analysis (eliminating, for example, spending on maintenance, school lunch, and transportation), but focused instead on those instructional expenditures that might be expected to affect student scores directly; (2) Dr. Ferguson used actual test scores, while Dr. Hanushek used only average test scores; (3) Dr. Ferguson used a methodology that simulated gains in achievement over time, while Dr. Hanushek reviewed only levels of achievement in a single year; and (4) Dr. Ferguson controlled for many more variables that could affect student scores (such as race, socio-economic status, and parental education) than did Dr. Hanushek. On balance, the Court finds that Dr. Ferguson's analysis of the relationship between school spending and student achievement in Alabama is superior in terms of data and research design to that of Dr. Hanushek and, thus, it accepts the view that there is a positive correlation between spending on education and student performance in this state. [34] But, this battle of the experts aside, the Court finds that the results of production function studies alone are in any case not an appropriate basis for concluding that additional funding for public schools is unnecessary or misguided. These studieswhich, as Dr. Alexander testified, were designed for use in ordinary business and manufacturing contextsare rightly controversial when applied to the education field, in which inputs and outputs are complex, data are limited, and some goals designed to be served by public education entirely escape analysis, such as socialization, the protection of public health and safety, the inculcation of moral and civic values, athletic achievement and aesthetic appreciation. Further, the Court does not, in any case, regard the hypothetical question of whether additional funds, if allocated to Alabama schools, will be spent efficiently to secure improvements in test scores as one that is relevant to the matters before it at this time. [35] The question prematurely contemplates imposition of a particular remedy one that defendant characterizes as throwing money at schools, which Superintendent Teague testified has never happened in this stateand assumes that state officials responsible for school funding, including the Governor, will not take pains to ensure that any additional funds are well spent. The Court is certainly not prepared to presume future inefficiency on the part of the executive and legislative branches. Nor is the Court inclined to accept the self-serving defense that schoolchildren are not entitled to sue for additional school funding and opportunities because the government cannot spend education money properly; if this is true, it is hardly the fault of the students. Finally, Governor Hunt argues in response to plaintiffs' claim that educational opportunities are provided inequitably and inadequately that this situation is rationally justified by the state's desire to foster local control of schools. By local control, defendant means delegation to the various school districts of a measure of control over what taxes the residents should pay and what level of funding they desire for their schools. See Hunt Post-Trial Brief at 17. Whether or not the present state school system, including the school finance system, is structured so as to be rationally related to the purpose of promoting local control is, in large part, a question of law which will be examined infra. However, the Court must also address certain factual issues to resolve this question. Specifically, the Court heard testimony from several of plaintiffs' witnesses that, under the present school finance system, many poorer districts do not experience local control they cannot reasonably be said to exercise autonomy to determine what level of funding they desire for their schools, to judge for themselves the needs of their children, or to raise taxes to secure the level of education they wish for the children in their districts. See Hunt Post-Trial Brief at 17; Hunt Pre-Trial Brief at 19, 23; see also Hunt Post-Trial Reply Brief at 18. These systems have severely limited local tax capacity; wish though they may for better educational opportunities for their children, many simply cannot afford them. Indeed, if local tax effort reflects the desire for a higher level of education, citizens in the poorest systems seem to want the most for their childrenbut their hands are tied by the very system that defendant argues is designed to enhance their ability to realize their aspirations. The Court does not understand local control to refer only to local control for the wealthy. Thus, to the extent that school opportunities are dependent upon wealth in this stateand the Court is satisfied that they are in large partthe Court finds that local control is defeated, rather than promoted, by the present state school system. In addition to claims of inadequacy in educational opportunity asserted by all the plaintiffs, the sub-class represented by John Doe argues that children with disabilities do not receive an appropriate education. Dr. Martha Snell and Dr. David Rostetter, special education experts with years of experience in assessing special education programs, testified on behalf of the sub-class. Their testimony, as well as the testimony of Dr. Kenneth Wilson and Mr. Barry Blackwell, state officials who work in the Division of Special Education Services of the Department of Education, confirmed that many children with disabilities in Alabama are not receiving an adequate or appropriate education. Along with a graduate student and Dr. David Rostetter, Dr. Snell conducted a five-day review of special education programs throughout Alabama. They visited schools in ten school systems including poorer and wealthier systems. Dr. Snell spent one week observing students with disabilities and their educational programs, including children with a variety of disabilities ranging from mild learning disabilities to those with severe multiple handicaps. Dr. Snell described, based on her years of experience in special education, seven components that are essential for an appropriate education for children with disabilities: (1) inclusion (the education of children with disabilities with their non-disabled chronological peers); (2) program support (resources needed to support special education statewide); (3) curriculum (the educational goals and objectives in each child's individualized education program (IEP)); (4) instruction (the methods used to teach curriculum); (5) peer support (encouragement and opportunity to socialize with non-disabled peers); (6) preparation for adult life; (7) and collaborative teaming (opportunities, formal and informal, for special education teachers to meet with regular education teachers concerning each child's program and needs). An appropriate education must be designed to provide educational benefit to a child with disabilities through individualized programs and instruction tailored to the needs of that child. For the child to benefit from these programs, related services such as speech therapy and transportation must be provided. As Dr. Snell testified, the measure of the success of a program is the outcome for that particular child. In assessing these factors, Dr. Snell found that children with disabilities in Alabama do not receive an appropriate education. The Court agrees, based on the undisputed testimony in this case. Dr. Snell described several deficiencies that she observed in special education programs. Among the most troubling are the complete absence of meaningful transition programs (that is, preparation for adult life), the lack of individualization in instruction, and teacher in-service training and development so poor that teachers do not know enough to ask for help. In a system with the purpose of preparing children with disabilities for adult life, these shortcomings are intolerable. Dr. Snell also found that disparities in the educational programs of children with disabilities are related to the wealth of local school systems. Children in the poorer systems receive lower quality educational instruction and special services than do children in wealthier systems. This disparity is as meaningful and substantial as the differential treatment of children in regular education programs. Governor Hunt argues that deficiencies observed by Dr. Snell cannot be generalized to the statewide system of special education. While the Court acknowledges that Dr. Snell's study addressed only ten of 129 school systems, testimony from Dr. Wilson and Mr. Blackwell confirmed that these problems are not isolated but widespread in Alabama. Both state officials described a system limited to crisis management and frankly confirmed that the solution to one crisis creates another, because the poorer systems often must take money previously assigned to one area of special education to pay for another service to solve the immediate problem. Dr. David Rostetter, who was responsible at the United States Department of Education for reviewing and monitoring states to ensure compliance with federal special education laws in 1976-1986, [36] evaluated the second of Dr. Snell's seven components of an appropriate education: program support. Dr. Rostetter visited schools, interviewed education staff at the state and local level, examined documents, and observed programs. The Court accepts Dr. Rostetter as an expert on the requirements of an appropriate education and on the program support needed to implement an appropriate education. In Dr. Rostetter's opinion, program support is essential for effective implementation of the other six factors. Program support consists of four components: (1) policy development and implementation, (2) staff and program development, (3) resources (human and financial), and (4) monitoring and evaluation. Dr. Rostetter's opinions about what constitutes program support are reinforced by the state's own plan for operation and administration of special education programs. The state plan is consistent with state special education statutes and requires the state to implement all the features of program support that Dr. Rostetter addressed. Dr. Rostetter concluded that Alabama does not provide an appropriate education to children with disabilities. The Court agrees. Deficiencies exist in all four areas of program support which prevents the provision of an appropriate education to children with disabilities. The Board is responsible for developing policies concerning the content and direction of special education programs. In order to provide an appropriate education, local school systems must implement these policies. However, Dr. Rostetter testified that local authorities do not follow state policy. For example, the state has created guidelines on providing transition services designed to enable children with disabilities to move successfully from school to the community. None of the school systems observed had transition plans for their children with disabilities. Further, in the 1991-1992 school year, the only identifiable money spent on transition programs was $103,566.72, which represented a portion of federal appropriations to 26 school systems for pilot transition programs. Clearly, the failure to provide adequate transition programs is a statewide problem. One of the most important parts of any educational program is the quality of the teachers who staff it. The Court finds that local authorities are unable to provide the staff and program development needed to ensure even minimum standards in instruction for children with disabilities in Alabama. Dr. Wilson testified that the State Department of Education provides technical assistance to local school systems and offers special education training programs when possible. He also said that money often restricts the availability of these services to school systems. In the 1991 calendar year, state funds financed only one training program in special education. Few school systems have local funds available to provide in-service training to regular and special education teachers and support personnel. This failure adversely affects the education of children with disabilities. As an example, one special education teacher was not even aware of the need to integrate children with disabilities into regular classes and school buildings. In the area of resource deficiencies, Dr. Rostetter testified that in addition to poorly trained teachers, the state of Alabama has a critical shortage of teachers and support staff. For the 1990-1991 school year, the state reported that it needed several hundred more teachers and related services personnel. Mr. Blackwell testified that some school systems cannot offer programs for children with certain disabilities because they do not have anyone trained or certified to teach in those special education areas. This lack of resources, both human and financial, results in an inappropriate education for many of the state's children with disabilities and contravenes the state's own plan for administration and operation of special education programs. Dr. Rostetter also found deficiencies in the fourth component of program support: monitoring and evaluation. The state is required by state law and its own state plan to ensure that the local systems are providing an appropriate education to children with disabilities. To enforce compliance, the state department is required by law to withhold funds from school systems that are not in compliance. However, the state is reluctant to take away funds from local systems because lack of money is often already part of the reason school systems are not providing an appropriate education. Dr. Rostetter testified that the absence of an effective monitoring system has resulted in an inability to identify, investigate, and resolve potential problems revealed during compliance reviews. For example, there are disparities in the number of children identified as disabled in some school systems. In predominantly black districts, 51.77 percent of the disabled population is identified as educable mentally retarded while in predominantly white school districts only 16.32 percent of disabled students are so identified. Conversely, in predominantly black school systems only 10.4 percent of disabled students are identified as learning disabled, while 42.9 percent of disabled students in predominantly white school systems are so identified. These differences in identification illustrate that the state has been unable to correct a problem that should be resolved through its monitoring and evaluation activities. This Court finds that children with disabilities are not receiving the appropriate education and related services to which they are entitled by state law, regulations, and the state's plan for administration and operation of its special education program. Further, the Court finds that Alabama cannot at present offer an appropriate education to such children because of deficiencies in program support. In summary, the Court finds that the ACE, Harper and John Doe plaintiffs have proved the inequity and inadequacy of the Alabama public school systems. The Court now turns to the legal consequences of these findings.