New York's Leandro

Leandro comes to New York.
In North Carolina, the Constitutional demand for a sound, basic education is old, well- at least middle-aged, news. New York state courts have just made the same conclusion.

The Times has an interestingly annoyed take on this. The schools are, now, "wards of the court." The Times' complaint, in its editorial today, is that school officials and local leaders failed to act, where acting would have prevented the drag that is the courts. Now, durnit, we have to pay up.

I'm not sure I agree. From what I can tell, the Times is arguing that the courts will demand a much higher payment to the schools, where negotiations between local officials could have prvented what will now sall for some creative (if we don't increase taxes) fundraising. Sure- this is problematic.

But I'm not sure that having a sound, basic education declared a constitutional demand is all bad. We've talked recently about creating rights on this weblog. (Given, the "sound, basic education" isn't so judge-created when it's in the text of the state constitution itself, is it?) In education policy, I am in favor of both the Leandro declaration and New York's entry to the club.