A sweeping ruling from a superior court judge in Connecticut could mean historic changes for the state’s schools, including how it funds its poorest districts.

Now a court ruling in Connecticut that could lead to some big changes in the state’s schools. A superior court judge wrote yesterday that Connecticut has left rich school districts to flourish and poor school districts to flounder. Cory Turner of the NPR Ed team has more on the ruling.

CORY TURNER, BYLINE: The case, like so many legal fights over school money, is older than many of the kids in Connecticut schools. It was brought back in 2005, with the plaintiffs arguing that school funding isn’t spread fairly. Poor schools, they said, in cities like Bridgeport and Waterbury can’t begin to compete with property-rich places like Greenwich. Yesterday, Judge Thomas Moukawsher largely agreed, saying too little money is chasing too many needs.

THOMAS MOUKAWSHER: The state would rather be a little less directly responsible. It points to a tradition of local control that it almost never brings up except to get itself out of a jam.