the court of appeals, new york's highest court, ruled in 1996 that the new york state constitution requires that the state offer all children the opportunity for a "sound basic education". in 2001, state supreme court justice leland degrasse found that the current state school funding system was unconstitutional. governor george pataki appealed the decision, which was overturned in 2002 by the appellate division. cfe appealed to the new york court of appeals, which again found in favor of cfe in 2003. the court of appeals gave the state of new york until july 30, 2004 to comply with its order.