Legal data for the study come from briefs of state and federal court decisions. Political information is drawn from various governmental reports to the Sixty-third Texas Legislature on public school finance reform. Other material is from minutes of the House Committee on Education and interviews with members involved in the legislative process. The study describes and analyzes competing forces which try to influence policy decisions and attempts to identify the salient issues in the political process of educational policy-making. This information is incorporated into a systems model for heuristic purposes. The study pays special attention to state and federal court decisions, with emphasis on the "Burger Court" and President Nixon's influence upon the court. The latter part of the study concentrates on the Sixty-third Legislature and post-Sixty-third Legislature of Texas, and its efforts to write a public school finance reform program. The findings of the study show that the disparity in educational opportunity in Texas is a reality. The study also shows that school districts with the greatest need for reform are often least effective in influencing educational decision-makers. Finally, the study reveals that the inequities in public school finance are inherent in the ad valorem tax system used in most states for public school financing. Further study is recommended into the politics of public school finance reform, with particular attention to the Texas Constitutional Convention's efforts to reform the state's funding formula. A study of the governor's role in public school finance should also be made, with special attention to the reasons for his refusal to call a special legislative session to deal with the problem. Finally, it is recommended that a study be made of the Fort Worth et al. v. Edgar case, since it represents a new dimension in the conflict over the use of the ad valorem property tax in funding public education.