After 30 years of litigation and two years since oral arguments, the NC Supreme Court dismissed the case, ruling that a previous decision had been in error. Statewide, students’ right to a sound basic education under the North Carolina State Constitution had been violated, affirming the initial 1994 claim that became the landmark Leandro case. After multiple trips to Superior Court and Supreme Court resulted in insufficient legislative progress on funding public schools, Superior Court Judge Lee appointed an outside expert (WestEd, a nonpartisan educational research organization) to determine what steps were needed to remedy the situation. But the 2022 elections changed the make-up of the North Carolina Supreme Court. The State of North Carolina was represented by representatives from the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Source: The Herald April 06, 2026 20:34 UTC