Abbeville County School District v. State

The South Carolina Constitution requires there be a system of free public schools that affords each student the opportunity to receive a minimally adequate education.1 The plaintiffs, including eight South Carolina school districts, claim that the State has failed to meet this constitutional obligation. The trial court held that the State’s failure to address the effects of pervasive poverty on students within the plaintiffs’ school districts prevented those students from receiving the required opportunity. The trial court performed a thorough and cogent examination of the issues of this…