Washington State Supreme Court Grills Lawmakers

Based on the questions asked during a Washington Supreme Court hearing, it's anyone's guess what the court's next step will be toward fixing the way the state pays for education.

The court had told lawyers representing the Washington Legislature to appear in court Wednesday and explain why they had not set out a plan for fully paying for basic education, as they ordered in their 2012 McCleary decision.

An engaged court asked many questions toward figuring out whether to hold the Legislature in contempt and what it would take to coerce its obedience.

The ideas flying around the Temple of Justice even included a suggestion by one Supreme Court justice that they could just decide every state tax exemption is unconstitutional. Justice Charles Johnson estimated that idea would free up about $30 billion, more than enough to fully pay for basic education for the state's public school children.