San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez

Texas funded public education partly through local property taxes, which meant Rodriguez's low-property-value school district raised far less money per pupil than wealthier districts, even though Texas had also created a state-funded minimum program meant to narrow that gap. Mexican-American parents in the Edgewood district, led by class representative Rodriguez (plaintiff), sued the San Antonio Independent School District (defendant), arguing the funding disparity violated the Equal Protection Clause; the district court agreed and struck down the Texas financing scheme, and the school district appealed.