Recently in school trust history
Idaho Admission
Idaho admitted with sections 16 and 36 of each township granted in trust for schools. Idaho's Endowment Fund Investment Board continues to manage the proceeds today.
Coalition · Field Notes
Field Notes
Strategic essays, letters, and dispatches from ASTL leadership. Each entry carries a jurisdiction tag and a topic tag so reporters and partners can find what they need quickly.
Washington Trust stress
The Three-Sided Squeeze on School Trust Lands
Ecological stress, federal resource failure, and state political directive — and the Mount Baker blueprint for fighting back.
Tonia Day ·
Nebraska Permanent fund
The Seed Corn Crisis
When the budget gets tight, the trust gets targeted. LB1072 would sweep $40M from Nebraska’s Permanent School Fund — and Arizona is the warning.
Tonia Day ·
National Trustee doctrine
The Punctilio of Honor
A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the marketplace. Most state trust-land trustees do not meet that standard.
Margaret Bird ·
Washington Legal & statute
The Mount Baker Brief
A working briefing on the $1.01M annual shortfall and the non-discretionary RCW 79.10.120 / SB 5994 pathway to make beneficiaries whole.
Tonia Day ·
Oregon Coalition
Letter of Support: ASTL to OSBA Legal Assistance Trust
Utah grew its permanent fund from $41M to nearly $4B. Oregon is the only state operating its trust at a significant loss.
Margaret Bird ·
Nebraska Permanent fund
Holding the Line on Nebraska's Permanent Fund
Article VII §7 builds a wall around the principal of the school trust. LB1072 would tear that wall down.
Daniel Crowe (via Margaret Bird) ·
Oregon Trustee doctrine
Oregon Legal Standing
The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed dismissal of OASTL’s breach-of-trust suit. Three points the court confirmed — and what they mean.
Dave Sullivan ·
Montana Trustee doctrine
Punctilio of Honor Award: Roy Andes
The first annual Punctilio of Honor Award — to the Montana attorney whose litigation put Cardozo’s standard on the trust-lands legal record.
Tonia Day ·
Wyoming Revenue
Wyoming Lease Reversal
After a court ruling, the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners rescinded its wind-lease approvals — and chose not to appeal. Marguerite Herman on what it costs schools.
Marguerite Herman ·
Arizona Permanent fund
Arizona Fiscal Cliff
Prop 123 sunsets, and Arizona schools face a $285M annual gap. A 4.5% distribution rate in 2016 would have left the fund $1.4B larger today.
Tonia Day ·
Utah Distribution
Utah $134M Distribution
Record-breaking $134M to schools for 2026–27, the first-year impact of Amendment B, and the locally-anchored SCC structure putting the dollars to work.
Sheri Mattle ·
Oregon Strategy
Restoring the Trust: A Three-Front Response
When Oregon formally denied any fiduciary duty to the school trust, the answer wasn't a louder voice. It was three coordinated fronts.
Tonia Day ·
National Foundational law
A Mission Rooted in Foundational Law
The mission of ASTL is not a fleeting policy idea — it is a fundamental, legally secure commitment woven into the fabric of the nation.
Tonia Day ·
National History
From the Founder's Preface: Why This Book
America in 1784, a Jefferson committee, and a uniquely American creation at the center of westward expansion.
Margaret Bird ·