If you have been reading the newspapers the last few day, you know that there was a suit (McCleary v. State) about adequacy of state basic education funding before the state supreme court. That decision was handed down Thursday and was a major victory for the plaintiffs. The full decision can be found at http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.

In this decision are several items of interest and importance to supporters of appropriate educational opportunities for highly capable students.

• The court found that the new definition of basic education in ESHB 2261 is part of a comprehensive reform acceptable to the court in fulfillment of prior court orders. The inclusion of HCP in this definition is mentioned in several places.

• The court is going to retain jurisdiction over the case to ensure that the provisions of 2261 are fully implemented by the school year 2018, as set out in the law.

• The court reaffirms that “programs and offerings that fall within the legislature’s definition of ‘basic education’ are considered nondiscretionary and must be funded regardless of budgetary constraints.” ” State-level funding for ‘basic education’ is not subject to debate, even in times of budget shortfalls.” (Page 18)

• Unless the Legislature choses to change the definition of basic education (and the decision says such a change “must be accompanied by an educational policy rationale; the legislature may not eliminate an offering from the basic education program for reasons unrelated to educational policy, such as fiscal crisis or mere expediency,” page 54) HCP has a “safe harbor.” We are no longer at extreme risk every budget cycle.