With help from Caitlin Emma and Ben Wermund.

DOES MINNESOTA NEED A SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN?: That’s one of the questions before the Minnesota Supreme Court, which today will hear arguments in a case faulting the state for maintaining highly segregated schools in the Twin Cities. The case was filed on behalf of seven families with children attending school in Minneapolis and St. Paul, who argue that the cities’ schools are more racially segregated than they have been in a generation — hampering student achievement and violating the state constitution.

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— The success of the case could have national implications, according to Dan Shulman, the attorney arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs today. “Schools have been allowed to resegregate all over the country,” Shulman told Morning Education. “The federal courts have been — remarkably and unfortunately — inefficient in remedying this problem. There is real hope that justice can be found in state courts. … I hope we’ll start a movement around the country.”

— In Minnesota, plaintiff families hope that a court order will prompt the state to craft a wide-ranging desegregation plan. Aside from district schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the lawsuit also points to segregation in some charter schools and suburban schools. By maintaining racially and socioeconomically segregated schools, they argue, the state is running afoul of its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education to all children.

— An analysis of school enrollment data by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published in 2015 found that in Minneapolis, two schools are composed almost entirely of white students, while 19 schools enroll 80 percent or more students from racial minorities.

— The lawsuit doesn’t name any school districts as defendants, asserting that the burden of educating Minnesota’s children falls on the state, under law.

— But state officials disagree. In a brief filed to the state Supreme Court, attorneys for the state argue that the case should be dismissed because the policies the lawsuit argues against are “controlled and dictated by school districts.” The state also argues that the case presents a question not up to the courts to rule on; a lower court sided with the state on this point in a March ruling. More from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

HAPPY TUESDAY. THIS IS MORNING EDUCATION. Winter is off to a brisk start, but it bodes well for those of us hoping to ski in the mid-Atlantic this year. What are the best places to ski near Washington? Send feedback, clips and rookie ski tips to mleonor@politico.com or @MelLeonor_. Send events to: educalendar@politicopro.com. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

IT’S OFFICIAL: POLITICO is teaming up with Smart Cities New York for their second annual conference on May 8-10. Recognized as North America’s leading global conference to address and highlight issues that cities face today and in the future, SCNY will bring Mayors, CEO’s, and other prominent thought leaders together to explore how cities around the globe are “Powered by the People” and preparing to meet the critical challenges of the future. POLITICO journalists will moderate discussions centered around physical and digital infrastructure, health, education, sustainability, security, mobility, workforce development and much much more. MARK YOUR CALENDAR and join us!

GATES FOUNDATION MOVES AHEAD WITH SCHOOL NETWORKS INITIATIVE: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is moving ahead with a plan to create networks of schools partly funded and monitored by the nonprofit, working to improve educational outcomes among black, Latino and low-income students.

— Today, the foundation will begin accepting proposals from organizations interested in serving as coordinating agencies among networks of high schools. Individual networks of schools will be known as a Network for School Improvement; they’ll work to improve graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment among minority and low-income students, while ensuring students are on track to earn a degree or a certification.

— The Gates Foundation will accept applications from nonprofit school improvement organizations, school districts, charter management organizations, regional education service agencies, higher education institutions and for-profit professional services firms, among others. Organizations can submit proposals with plans to recruit schools and assemble their networks later. Read more about the initiative.

— Bill Gates first pitched the initiative during an October speech on the foundation’s new course for its K-12 work — one that would allow innovation to originate in schools. "We believe this kind of approach — where groups of schools have the flexibility to propose the set of approaches they want — will lead to more impactful and durable systemic change that is attractive enough to be widely adopted by other schools," Gates said at the time.

REPORT: K-12 REVENUES, EXPENDITURES INCREASE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR: State and local revenues and expenditures on K-12 public education have increased for the second year in a row, a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics finds. From fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2015, local revenues increased by 3.3 percent from $282.5 to $292 billion, and state revenues increased by 3.7 percent from $290.7 to $301.6 billion, after adjusting for inflation. The two years of spending increases reverse four straight years of declines, from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2013, after adjusting for inflation, NCES notes. Current expenditures increased by 3.3 percent between fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015, after an increase of 1.7 percent the previous year.

SCHOOL-BASED LAW ENFORCEMENT APPLAUDS DOJ MARIJUANA MOVE: The National Association of School Resource Officers praised a memo issued last week by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that called on federal prosecutors to aggressively enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the recreational use of the drug. “Our members have seen first-hand the effects of marijuana use on youth,” the association’s executive director, Mo Canady, said. “We are in favor of law enforcement that creates barriers to non-medical possession and use of this drug by minors.”

FIRST LOOK — WSJ REPORTER TO PEN BOOK ON STUDENT DEBT: Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell has finalized a deal with Simon & Schuster to publish a book about student loans. The book, due in 2019 and tentatively called “Debt Trap,” will capture “the various factors, political and economic, that collided to saddle Americans with student debt and create economic instability,” Mitchell says.

REPORT ROLL CALL

— Many adult Texans don’t have a high school diploma or equivalent — and recent changes to the national GED test, as well as the introduction of new exams in the state, have potentially exacerbated the problem, the Center for Public Policy Priorities argues in a new paper.

— A new article in the journal Education Next looks at how leaders in traditional school buildings can think differently about how teachers are assigned to classrooms to encourage more collaboration.

SYLLABUS

— “Under Trump, a hard test for Howard University”: The New Yorker.

— School funding on a long to-do list for Washington legislature this session: The Spokesman-Review.

— Tennessee’s Department of Education wants more audits of Shelby County Schools after grade-tampering scandal: Commercial Appeal.

— Crews working overtime to restore heat in Baltimore schools: The Associated Press.

— Kansas lawmakers must deal with a court mandate to boost public school spending as start of annual session looms: The Associated Press.

— North Carolina governor wants legislature to spend more on teachers: The Associated Press.

— Houston Community College trustee hit with 70-month prison sentence, judge says he received 69 bribe payments totaling $225,259 from at least four people seeking contracts with the college: The Houston Chronicle.

— Long-time sponsors of Tennessee voucher bill dropping effort this legislative session: Chalkbeat Tennessee.

Hope the High Road with the Pro Education team: @caitlinzemma (cemma@politico.com), @khefling (khefling@politico.com), @mstratford (mstratford@politico.com), @BenjaminEW (bwermund@politico.com) and @MelLeonor_ (mleonor@politico.com).