Across the nation, concerns about the adequacy and equity of school finance remain highly contested and hotly debated. In nearly all 50 states, courts have been asked to decide whether the legislative scheme for funding public education is permissible under the jurisdiction’s binding authorities. While judicial intervention may offer an effective strategy to increase school funding, there is limited research about the specific policy mechanisms that drive legislative reform to increase resources for districts. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by closely examining the response in Washington in the decade following McCleary v. State, in which the state’s highest court found that congress failed to adequately fund basic education for more than a million K-12 students. This policy study examines the legislative action (and inaction) in the six years until the court eventually terminated jurisdiction, and how the McCleary-prompted reforms have affected school and district resources and per-pupil funding in Washington. The paper concludes with recommendations for advocates and policymakers for effective reform in school finance legislation.