Cite as 351 Ark. 31 (2002)
the state is to be divided up in public schools lies with the General Assembly and is "supreme." Massey, 315 Ark. at 169. See also, Krause v. Thompson, 138 Ark. 571, 211 S.W.2d 925 (1919). The issue of funding of school districts has also been before this court on a number of occasions as it relates to the General Assembly's duty to provide a general, suitable, and efficient school system under the constitution. Dupree v. Alma Sch. Dist. No. 30, 279 Ark. 340, 651 S.W.2d 90 (1983); see also, Krause, supra.
This court has not specifically defined the terms "general, suitable, and efficient." The word "general" in Article 14, Section 1, means that the public schools required under the constitution must be of common benefit to those who are to be served by the schools, i.e., those who are between six and twenty-one years of age.[1] The public schools must offer "gratuitous instruction of all persons between the ages of six and twenty-one. . . ." Special Sch. Dist. No. 65 v. Bangs, 144 Ark. 34, 36, 221 S.W. 1060 (1920). In 1885, this court stated: "It is the clear intention of the constitution and the statutes alike, to place the means of education within the reach of every youth." Maddox v. Neal, 45 Ark. 121, 124 (1885). "Education at the public expense has thus become a legal right." Id. Under our constitution, educational opportunity may not be "controlled by the fortuitous circumstances of residence." Dupree, 279 Ark. at 345. Thus, "general" means a "suitable" education must be afforded to all between the ages of six and twenty-one.
The word "suitable" may also be understood by reference to earlier decisions of this court. In Fort Smith School District v. Maury, 53 Ark. 471, 14 S.W. 669 (1890), this court stated:
The duty to establish and keep in operation schools is not met by the employment of teachers and keeping them at the school house; but it demands that suitable persons shall be kept as teachers, and a school maintained adapted to the intellectual and moral advancement of pupils.
- ↑ As the majority notes, whether early childhood education is to be provided is a public policy issue for the General Assembly to resolve. It is not required under the constitution.
