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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT Ronald J. Waicukauski Jana K. Strain Price Waicukauski & Riley, LLC Indianapolis, IN Michael D. Weisman Rebecca P. McIntyre Weisman & McIntyre Boston, MA ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES Gregory F. Zoeller Attorney General of Indiana Thomas M. Fisher Solicitor General Heather L. Hagan Deputy Attorney General Julie Brubaker Deputy Attorney General TAX FOUNDATION Joseph D. Henchman Washington, DC

ATTORNEYS FOR AMICI CURIAE NAT'L ACCESS NETWORK, EDUC. LAW CENTER, AND THE RURAL SCHOOL AND COMM. TRUST, INC. Jerry Garau Findling Garau Germano & Pennington, P.C. Indianapolis, IN Molly A. Hunter Dir., Nat'l ACCESS Network New York, NY Ellen Boylan Educ. Law Center Newark, NJ Amanda G. Adler Educ. Finance Center, The Rural School and Comm. Trust, Inc. Columbia, SC

John M. Mead Leeuw Oberlies & Campbell, P.C. Indianapolis, IN

_____________________________________________________________________________

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S02-0809-CV-525

In the

FILED
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

Jun 02 2009, 11:32 am

CLERK

PHILIP A. BONNER, A MINOR, BY PARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS, JOSEPH AND LATANYA BONNER; WILLIAM THOMAS BOBO, A MINOR, BY MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, CLARISSA WAN BOBO; JOHN BROOKS, JR., A MINOR, BY FATHER AND NEXT FRIEND, JOHN BROOKS, SR.; AARON W. CARVER, A MINOR, BY PARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS, LESTER AND VANESSA CARVER; THOMAS J. HARRIS, A MINOR, BY MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, PATRICIA HARRIS; DEMI MURRY, A MINOR, BY GRANDPARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS, PATRICIA AND CHARLES MURRY; DAMEESHA FLETCHER, A MINOR, BY MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, LORETTA FLETCHER; BRENDAN JOHNSON, A MINOR, BY MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, AYANA JOHNSON; AND ALBERT SERNA, A MINOR, BY PARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS, BERTH AND CIRILO SERNA,1 Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. MITCH DANIELS, GOVERNOR, STATE OF INDIANA, AND CO-CHAIR OF THE EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE; TONY BENNETT, INDIANA STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, CHAIR OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND CO-CHAIR OF THE EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE; AND INDIANA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Appellees (Defendants). _________________________________

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The plaintiffs' caption appends the phrase "On Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated." Their filed complaint was styled as a class action lawsuit, but the trial court dismissed the complaint before determining whether to permit the cause to be maintained as a class action. Ind. Trial Rule 23(C).

Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, No. 49D01-0604-PL-16414 The Honorable Cale J. Bradford, Judge _________________________________ On Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-0702-CV-188 _________________________________ June 2, 2009 Dickson, Justice.

The plaintiffs/appellants, a group of Indiana public school students, appeal the trial court's dismissal of their complaint, which sought a declaratory judgment to establish that the Indiana Constitution imposes an enforceable duty on state government to provide a standard of quality education to public school students and that such duty is not being satisfied. The Court of Appeals reversed. Bonner v. Daniels, 885 N.E.2d 673 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). We granted transfer and now affirm the trial court. Although recognizing the Indiana Constitution directs the General Assembly to establish a general and uniform system of public schools, we hold that it does not mandate any judicially enforceable standard of quality, and to the extent that an individual student has a right, entitlement, or privilege to pursue public education, this derives from the enactments of the General Assembly, not from the Indiana Constitution.

The plaintiffs' declaratory judgment action sought a judicial declaration that Indiana's system of school financing violates three provisions of the Indiana Constitution: the Education Clause (Article 8,

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