Lake View litigation, Arkansas' education funding policy, and adequacy: A conflict between individual need and collective resourc

This case study examined the legal fight with the state of Arkansas to provide an adequate education for the children of the state. The case addressed the issue of adequate education funding and state responsibility to provide adequate education for its residents. The very definition of "adequate education" is challenged. The litigation process began in 1992 by the Lake View School District in Phillips County, Arkansas and continued until the case was declared resolved in 2007. To examine the implications of this event, the case study used both prospective and retrospective data from interviews with individuals who played diverse roles in the process, field notes, and descriptive statistics. Using a human development theoretical framework defined by ul Haq and Sen, the analysis compared the participants' definition of adequacy to the Arkansas Supreme Court's, and analyzed stakeholder perception of how the post-litigation legislative changes resulting from the Lake View legal challenge met their definition of an adequate education -- which is a hallmark of human development.