The history of school finance reform in the last 75 years provides a context for considering future school finance issues and the different school finance problems faced by the various states. From 1900 to 1965 states provided foundation aid to school districts. In the mid-1960s federal aid was added for special needs students. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, court litigation became the locus of school finance reform efforts, focusing on equal protection arguments and variations in district needs. Tax reform also became an issue. Now, most states are more sensitive to property wealth-related inequities in educational finance. Future issues in school finance will involve district size, municipal overburden, alternative sources of district revenues, educational adequacy, public support for private education, and teacher salary levels. States can be grouped according to six school finance problems they wil face in the 1980s, including those with pending school finance or municipal overburden cases, those anticipating reforms or reviewing past reforms, those facing fiscal crises, and those where reforms are likely in the next few years. (RW)