A coalition of Johnson County school districts has hired a legal expert who once represented the state on school finance issues as it explores whether to take the state to court for not fully funding special education in Kansas.
The coalition announced on Tuesday it had hired Curt Tideman, senior legal counsel with Lathrop GPM. Tideman is no stranger to school finance law in Kansas.
Eight years ago, Tideman served as counsel to the Kansas House and advised lawmakers about a study that recommended spending up to $2 billion more on education to answer a state Supreme Court ruling ordering more money for schools.
The report was issued in March 2018 as the Legislature considered a plan for how to comply with a state Supreme Court order demanding more money for public education.
The Legislature hired consultants to help the state develop new cost estimates for funding schools after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state wasn’t adequately funding education.
Tideman also was involved in one of the earliest Kansas school finance lawsuits, representing the state in 2005 and 2006 in what’s known as the Montoy case.
“A large portion of Curt’s education law practice is focused on public school funding issues, including litigating related constitutional challenges,” according to Tideman’s profile on the law firm’s website.
“He has successfully defended challenges to locally approved funding measures, preserving critical revenue streams for public education, and has represented state government entities in high-profile litigation addressing the adequacy and structure of school funding systems,” the profile said.
“His work also includes advising legislative bodies on compliance with court orders pertaining to adequate funding levels.”
Tideman has a bachelor’s from the University of Nebraska and earned his law degree from Creighton University.
It was not known on Tuesday how much the new legal services would cost.
Four districts – Blue Valley, De Soto, Olathe and Shawnee Mission – have signed an agreement establishing the Kansas Public School Funding Coalition.
They described it as a “unified and strategic effort to address the Kansas Legislature’s continued failure to adequately fund public education and meet its legal obligation for special education funding.”
The coalition said the state’s underfunding of special education has led to a “growing financial crisis that is forcing districts to redirect resources away from general education classrooms, staff recruitment, retention and compensation, student programs, and operational needs simply to cover the state’s shortfall.”
The four school districts said they spent more than $119 million in local funds to cover the state’s shortfall for covering special education expenses.
The new legal counsel will be responsible for:
- Evaluating the legal and strategic timing for litigation against the state.
- Identifying opportunities to collaborate with other districts and organizations pursuing similar goals.
- Developing a litigation strategy aimed at securing adequate and equitable funding for both special education and general education for Kansas public schools.
“This is another important step in ensuring the state of Kansas fulfills its legal responsibility to adequately fund public education,” the coalition said in a statement.
“Our districts, along with countless other public school districts across Kansas, have spent years working through the legislative process, but the financial burden placed on local schools continues to grow.
“We owe it to our students, staff, and communities to pursue every available option to ensure the state meets its obligation.”
