North Carolina Supreme Court ends 32-year Leandro school-funding case in 4-3 ruling

The North Carolina Supreme Court voted 4-3 on April 2, 2026, to vacate nine years of court-ordered school funding mandates and end the Leandro litigation, a case first filed in 1994 asserting students had a constitutional right to a sound basic education. Chief Justice Paul Newby, joined by three Republican justices, ruled the 2022 Leandro IV decision was void on procedural grounds without addressing the substantive constitutional right. Justices Riggs, Earls, and Dietz dissented.