Justice as Fairness: The Equitable Foundations of Adequacy Litigation (Note)

Throughout the past fifty years lawyers and education advocates have used the court system to try to equalize educational opportunities in this country and close the achievement gap. Scholars have previously characterized these cases in two waves: equity and adequacy. Those cases labeled "equity" are those where plaintiffs asked for equalization of education spending. "Adequacy" cases, on the other hand, are those where plaintiffs have asked for certain resources necessary to meet a basic level of education guaranteed by the state's constitution. There has been much debate regarding the efficacy of either type of case, with many scholars arguing for a return to "equity" cases. In this Note, I argue that cases formerly termed "equity" cases are, in fact, "equality" cases and that "adequacy" cases, when brought under the correct conditions, have a greater potential to bring equity to education