For 40 Years, One Texas Family Has Fought For Equal School Funding

Laura Isensee, NPR

Patty Rodriguez and her brother Alex hold a photo of their father, Demetrio Rodriguez, who died in 2013. Bahram Mark Sobhani

In 1973, in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that there was no federal right to equal school funding in the Constitution.

That was more than 40 years ago, and today Patty Rodriguez, a teacher in the same school district in San Antonio where that fight started, says nothing has changed.

Her father, Demetrio Rodriguez, filed the suit. It became a landmark case, a turning point when the focus around school funding shifted from the federal government to the states.

Any day, the Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule on a separate yet very similar case. This time, some 600 rich and poor districts alike have signed on to sue the state of Texas, complaining the system for funding schools there doesn't work.

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The story of Patty Rodriguez and the legacy of her father's fight is part of the NPR reporting project School Money, a nationwide collaboration between NPR's Ed Team and 20 member station reporters exploring how states pay for their public schools and why many are failing to meet the needs of their most vulnerable students. Join the conversation on Twitter by using #SchoolMoney.