(The Center Square) – The Green Bay, Eau Claire, Beloit, Necedah and Adams-Friendship school districts along with parent-teacher groups, educator associations and individuals are suing the Wisconsin Legislature saying that it does not properly fund K-12 public education in the state in a constitutional way.
The lawsuit was filed by Law Forward and the Wisconsin Education Association Council.
The lawsuit speaks to local property tax increases, the increased number of students with exceptional needs and changes over time in how much the state spends on education. It asks the court to “render the current school finance system unconstitutional.”
“The Legislature’s failure to provide adequate state funding for public school districts violates article I, section 22 because ‘free government’ is at risk,” the lawsuit states. “Also, the Legislature’s failure to prioritize public schools and allocate sufficient state funding to meet constitutional guarantees to public school students violates ‘recurrence to first principles.’ “
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty Research Director Will Flanders, however, argues that the lawsuit is faulty because, adjusted for inflation, the state is spending more per student on public schools than it did a decade ago and that giving more money to schools has not proven to provide better results.
This lawsuit is based on a faulty premise. Adjusted for inflation, the state is spending MORE on public schools than a decade ago ($7,693 in ’14 versus $8,361 today). Overall spending has jumped even more to $18,592 per student from $16,820 (1/3). https://t.co/FGS5LvmGzz pic.twitter.com/awnszdHXs7— Will Flanders (@WillFlandersWI) February 24, 2026
“This may be the most fiscally consequential lawsuit in state history,” WILL Attorney Dan Lennington wrote on social media. “It demands a new level of spending: infinity.
This may be the most fiscally consequential lawsuit in state history. It demands a new level of spending: infinity. And absolutely no evidence that infinite spending would make one kid smarter. The real targets of this lawsuit: 110,000 kids in the choice/charter system. https://t.co/F7HneK1218— Dan Lennington (@DanLennington) February 24, 2026
“And absolutely no evidence that infinite spending would make one kid smarter. The real targets of this lawsuit: 110,000 kids in the choice/charter system.”
The lawsuit names the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate along with individual members of the Legislature, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate President Mary Felzkowski and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.
“Public education is central to Wisconsin’s identity and future,” Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. “Our state’s founders recognized its importance by enshrining in the Wisconsin Constitution a shared state and local responsibility to provide a system of education ‘as nearly uniform as practicable.’ Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves that promise to be kept.”
She said that the “current funding formula is not working” and that education and opportunity shouldn’t depend on where a student lives.
