In a wave of judicial decisions, state court judges in the US have decided that they have the power to tell legislatures to spend more on education. That is the result in 20 of the 29 cases decided so far and similar litigation is pending in almost every state. In the latest decision, Judge Leland DeGrasse signed an order on March 15 requiring New York State to increase massively its spending on New York City schools - by $5.6bn for operating expenses plus $9.2bn for improving facilities, to be phased in over the next five years. The order gives the state until June 13 to find the money.

New York State's high court ruled in 2003 that the city's schools, with their high drop-out rates and poor test scores, had failed the children. That is undeniable. The court gave the state legislature until June 30 last year to define what it would take to give children a sound basic education, price it and fund it. When that deadline came and went, Judge DeGrasse imposed his order.