INTRODUCTION Funding public education has long been a problem for Texas state government. Starting before Texas even became a state, public education funding was at the forefront of politicians' minds. In 1836, one of the reasons Anglo-Texans wanted to become independent from Mexico was the lack of a public school system in Mexico (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). This prompted President Mirabeau B. Lamar of the Republic of Texas to create legislation granting land to public schools (A Brief History of Public Education, n.d.). This law set aside four leagues of land per county for the use of free education centers and thus began state government funding of public education (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). Over the past 177 years, the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency have created numerous acts and laws regarding education funding, but it has been over the past 50 years that this topic has become highly contested, resulting in numerous lawsuits and efforts infinite. (by school districts) to equalize the distribution of funds to Texas school districts (Texas School Finance History, n.d.). In summary, the complex issues and policies surrounding public education funding arise from a combination of legislature, bureaucratic agencies, and local governments in the form of school districts. HISTORY/ BACKGROUND Until 1968 there were few complaints about what the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency had to say about school finances. It was in 1968 that the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) filed its first lawsuit against the state; this particular lawsuit was filed because SAISD felt that the funding...... middle of paper...... the surrounding area was required (and thus get more funding from local property taxes), by law and the Education Code, to give a portion of their funding to “poor” school districts in order to increase the performance of “poor” school districts; this idea of ​​taking from the rich and giving to the poor is why it is nicknamed the “Robin Hood” plan (Smith, Schools are Reassigned to Robin Hood, 2011). This bill was the first in a long series of bills deemed a constitutional solution to the Edgewood v. Kirby of the 1989 Texas Supreme Court, but it is also the reason not only for the current lawsuit brought by approximately 600 school districts (both rich and poor), but also the 2003 school finance lawsuit (Texas School Finance History, n.d.) . It has been declared unconstitutional several times throughout its history, but remains in effect today.