This is Volume 80, Issue 3 2005 of the Peabody Journal of Education and this special issue provides a collection of works on the topic of making school resources more effective in the U.S. The included articles look at educational finance, the Education Professions Act guidelines for more motivated teachers and leaders, licencing in public schools, a study on how teaching conditions impact teacher turnover in California, student achievement in relation to school facilities in Wyoming, and the value of econometric cost analysis in Texas. The final article includes the case of Williams vs the state of California, where in August 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of school children against the state of California. The suit, Williams v. State of California, alleged that the state failed to exercise its constitutional obligation to provide equal access to education for all students in the state by allowing deficient facilities, uncredentialed teachers, and inadequate or insufficient instructional materials.