RALEIGH (April 2,2026) – After nearly 32 years of litigation, the NC Supreme Court shot down a previous order from the courts today for the state to send $677.8 million to the state’s public schools.
In a 4-3 decision with Republican Associate Justice Richard Dietz siding with the court’s two Democrats in dissent, the court stuck down a Superior Court judge’s order for the state to pony up in the long-running case known as Leandro that was first filed by five poor school districts in 1994.1
The issue in the most recent arguments – made more than two years ago – was whether the courts have constitutional authority to order the spending of state funds. Legislative leaders contended that only the General Assembly has authority to appropriate state dollars.
THE SUPREME COURT ruled in the case in 1997 that every child in North Carolina has the right to “an opportunity for a sound basic education.”
Yet a “recalcitrant” General Assembly has never lived up to that obligation, the Court – then with a Democratic majority – found in a 2022 ruling.
“We do not do so lightly,” Associate Justice Robin Hudson wrote in the majority opinion. “Nevertheless, years of continued judicial deference and legislative non-compliance render it our solemn constitutional duty to do so.
“… When other branches indefinitely abdicate this constitutional obligation, the judiciary must fill the void.”2
The Court – now with a Republican majority – reversed the previous Court’s order.3
GOV. JOSH STEIN responded with a statement that declared the Court “wrong”:
“Education opens doors of opportunity for children, but today the Court slammed them in the face of students who deserve the right to a sound basic public education,” Stein said.
“The Supreme Court simply ignored its own established precedent, enabling the General Assembly to continue to deprive another generation of North Carolina students of the education promised by our Constitution.
“In recent years, the General Assembly has dropped North Carolina to 49th in the country in per-pupil investment and made our teachers among the worst paid in the nation. Four Supreme Court justices believe that is okay, but they are wrong. Their decision is contrary to the plain language of our Constitution and the court’s past rulings.
“Today’s news doesn’t change our state’s fundamental responsibility to its students. That’s why I continue to advocate for a real pay raise for every teacher, more support personnel in our schools, free school breakfast for all students, and proven investments in student outcomes like the Science of Reading and Advanced Teaching Roles.
“Our children are our future, and it’s long past time we invest in them.”4
1 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article312085621.html; https://www.wral.com/news/education/nc-supreme-court-leandro-ruling-april-2026/.
2 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23266854-hoke-county-board-of-education-et-al-v-state-of-north-carolina-et-al-425a21-2/, p. 125.
3 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article312085621.html.
4 https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/04/02/governor-stein-responds-nc-supreme-courts-leandro-decision.
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