Equal Educational Opportunity and Public School Finance Reform in Ohio: "Board of Education v. Walter.".

In Board of Education v. Walter' the Ohio Supreme Court held that the statutory scheme of financing public education in Ohio 2 was constitutional under the Ohio Constitution.Plaintiffs at the trial court level had challenged the statutory scheme under two provisions of the Ohio Constitution: the equal protection and benefit clause 3 and the thorough and efficient clause.4 The Ohio Supreme Court first reversed the holding of the court of appeals and the conclusion of the trial court that the statutory scheme violated the equal protection and benefit clause.The supreme court then upheld the holding of the court of appeals, which had found error in the trial court's conclusion that the statutory scheme violated the thorough and efficient clause.The legal yardstick used by the Ohio Supreme Court and the lower courts to decide both issues was "equal educational opportunity (EEdO)."In this respect the Ohio courts joined a growing number of courts 5 and commentators 6 who have relied on the concept of EEdO to analyze public 1.58 Ohio St. 2d 368,390 N.E.2d 813 (1979).Plaintiffs filed a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on Oct. 13, 1979.48