Bismarck Public School District 1 v. State Ex Rel. North Dakota Legislative Assembly

We are asked to decide if North Dakota’s educational finance system meets the state constitution’s requirements that the Legislative Assembly “provide for a uniform system of free public schools,” and that “[a]ll laws of a general nature shall have uniform operation.”

Because the majority opinion’s analysis is seriously flawed, ignoring the clear meaning of the constitutional language, and the opinions of this Court, I dissent.

The district court declared virtually every education finance statute unconstitutional. The majority purports to affirm the district court; yet it declares no statute…