Kansas high court strikes down state school funding program News
Kansas high court strikes down state school funding program

[JURIST] In a long-awaited decision [text] handed down Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court rejected the state's proposed $145 million dollar finance plan for public schools. In late March 2005 lawmakers approved [Lawrence Journal-World report] the additional $145 million in state funding to be used primarily for programs aiding special education, low income students, and bilingual learning. The ruling is the latest development [school finance timeline] in a lawsuit originally filed in 1999 on behalf of parents and school administrators in Dodge City and Salina school districts who were angered by what they saw as unfair distribution of education funds. In May 2004, a state judge ordered that Kansas state spending on public schools be stopped [JURIST report] after finding the school finance system unconstitutional because it underfunded the education of all students, especially minorities. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.