New Hampshire has answered the state Supreme Court’s last mandate in an 18-year-old school funding lawsuit with Governor John Lynch’s signature on a school accountability bill.
Lynch signed the bill Tuesday. He said it will allow the state to tell if schools are using state aid to provide a quality education.
In response to a 1991 lawsuit, the court mandated that the state define an adequate education, determine its cost, fund it and hold schools accountable for providing it. Lawmakers have defined adequacy, determined its cost and included money in next year’s budget to begin the transition to the new aid system.
The accountability system includes a range of ways schools and students can demonstrate success.