CONCORD, N.H. – Republican House Speaker William O’Brien proposed a constitutional amendment Friday that he said would end “an ongoing cycle of hostility and funding chaos” by keeping education decisions out of the courts and giving the Legislature full discretion to decide how much, if anything, to pay for school.

O’Brien’s proposed amendment would nullify the state Supreme Court’s landmark 1997 decision requiring the state to provide an adequate education for all public schoolchildren. Instead, it would give the Legislature the authority to define educational standards, determine the amount of state funding for schools and mitigate disparities among communities.

“It is my ardent belief that today will mark the start of the end of this chaos and the beginning of a focus on helping real students in need,” he told a special House committee.

The current law requires a base amount of aid be distributed per pupil to provide an adequate education.