Opinion ID: 1113751
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: the state public school system

Text: The state of Alabama has 129 local school systems, 67 of which are county systems and 62 of which are independent city systems. Student enrollment in these systems ranges in size from 65,956 students in Mobile County to 210 in Florala City; the average enrollment for all systems is 5,530 students. In the 1990-91 school year, total enrollment in Alabama's public schools for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) was 713,909, with an average daily attendance (ADA) of 682,937 students. Attendance at public school or a lawful substitute is compulsory, and truancy is punishable by fines and jail time for persons having charge of any student required to attend school. Ala.Code §§ 16-28-1 et seq. Each of the state's 129 local school systems serves children with disabilities in 13 categories of disability. In the 1991-1992 school year, there were 97,937 of these special needs children enrolled in schools in Alabama. Public officials at both the state and local levels administer Alabama's public schools. The state legislature from time to time enacts measures directly mandating certain programs and standards in public schools. See, e.g., id. at §§ 16-3-18.4 (performance-based on accreditation), 16-36-34 (textbooks), 16-8-43 (school restrooms). The State Board of Education, which consists of eight members elected statewide, id. at § 16-3-1, exercises general control and supervision over the public schools of this state. Id. at § 16-3-11; see also Ala.Const. amend. 284. The Board is charged with investigating the educational needs of the state, adopting regulations relating to grading and standardizing schools, courses of study, teacher training and certification, and other aspects of the administration of public schools. Id. at §§ 16-3-12, 16-3-14, 16-13-15, 16-3-16, 16-3-17. The governor of Alabama is president and an ex officio member of the State Board of Education. Id. at §§ 16-3-1, 16-3-2. Governor Hunt maintains a full-time education advisor on his executive staff. More generally, the governor holds the supreme executive power in the state, Ala.Const. art. V, § 113, and is responsible for seeing that the laws are faithfully executed. Id., art. V, § 120. The state superintendent of education, with the advice and counsel of the State Board of Education, is in charge of the on-going operation of Alabama's department of education. Ala.Code § 16-2-1. The state superintendent is charged with executing the educational policy of the Board, id. at § 16-4-6, and has the duty to explain the true intent and meaning of the school laws and of the rules and regulations of the state board of education. Id. at § 16-4-4. Among other responsibilities, the state superintendent must prepare and submit for approval to the Board rules and regulations for grading and standardizing public schools, minimum requirements for diplomas and courses of study, and legislation needed for the further development and improvement of the public schools. Id. at §§ 16-3-15, 16-4-14, 16-4-20. In the area of special education, Alabama statutes require that all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education and that the state board adopt regulations ensuring such an education. Ala.Code §§ 16-39-3 and 16-39-5. At the local level, public schools are governed through county and city boards of education. Local boards of education are responsible for the general administration and supervision of the public schools within their respective jurisdictions. Id. at §§ 16-8-8, 16-11-9. These boards establish local educational policies, id. at §§ 16-8-10, 16-11-18, employ administrative, teaching and support personnel for their school systems, id. at §§ 16-8-23, 16-11-17, and perform such other duties and functions as required by law. The public school budget process also operates at several levels. Local school boards receive a mixture of state, local and federal funds to finance public schools and related programs within their respective school systems. Local funds are primarily raised through ad valorem (property), sales, and other taxes levied under constitutional or statutory authority. These funds are apportioned and expended by local school boards within the school systems in which the funds are raised. Id. at § 16-13-32. Federal funds are allocated by federal authorities directly to the State Department of Education, and distributed by that body to local school boards according to federal mandates. Funds from state revenues are appropriated for local school boards at the state level. Each county and city board of education submits an annual budget to the state superintendent. Id. at § 16-13-140(b). The state superintendent exercises independent judgment in preparing a state-wide education budget request to offer to the Board, id. at § 16-4-19, which in turn forwards its recommended school budget to the governor. The governor is charged with formulat[ing] the program and financial plan to be recommended to the legislature for state government as a whole at his or her own discretion after review of each state agency's proposed budget, including the public school budget. Id. at §§ 41-19-4, 41-19-7. The department of finance assists the governor in preparing this budget plan, id. at § 41-19-5(1), and administers and implements the budget. Id. at §§ 41-19-5(4), 41-19-10(c) and (f). The legislature considers the plan recommended by the governor and adopts this budget or alternative proposals as it deems appropriate. Id. at § 41-19-8. Budgeted state revenues are allocated to local school boards by a number of methods described more specifically below, as set out in a variety of state laws and regulations. See, e.g., id. at §§ 16-13-1 et seq. With this background in mind, the Court will first address the ACE and Harper [8] plaintiffs' general factual allegations concerning the operation and effects of the Alabama public school system, and then the Doe plaintiffs' more specific allegations regarding the education of children with disabilities within the state, as well as defendant's responses.