On June 25th, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Horne v. Flores, the most important education case before the Supreme Court this year, in which, by a 5-4 vote, it reversed the lower court’s decision which had ordered the Arizona legislature to increase its funding for English as a second language programs.  An amicis (“friend of the court”) brief had been submitted which relied heavily on the newly published book, SCHOOLHOUSES, COURTHOUSES, AND STATEHOUSES by Eric Hanushek and Alfred Lindseth, even though it had not been published at the time.  The majority opinion cites the book, along with several other research articles written by Hanushek, in support of a key proposition in the case, namely, that court ordered funding mandates have not been that successful in improving achievement. Although this book has only been officially out for less than a week, it is already having a national impact. Cal Thomas agrees with the argument in the book and has written about it in his syndicated column, and Jim Wooten writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Not bad to have a book published one week and be cited by the U.S. Supreme Court the next.” In addition, check out the blog Effective School Funding, which is updated regularly with news of the book and its impact on this important debate.