Georgia continued its fight Tuesday against a lawsuit claiming the state fails to spend enough money on schools.

A group of 51 mostly rural school districts filed the suit in 2004 arguing a lack of state money has caused low student achievement. The Consortium for Adequate School Funding in Georgia claims poor districts are at a disadvantage because they can't raise enough money from local taxes to supplement state funding.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Long heard arguments Tuesday regarding the state's motion for summary judgment, which would allow the judge to rule in favor of the state without going to trial.

Attorneys representing Georgia said the consortium has failed to prove the state hasn't fulfilled its obligation to provide an adequate education for all students. They said the group has no statistical evidence that poor student performance was caused by a lack of state funding or other factors under state control.

Lawyers representing the consortium argued summary judgment is not appropriate because many facts are in dispute. They said evidence would be presented at trial to show the state has failed to provide for students.

After about three hours of arguments, Long said she would make a decision "as soon as I can."

If she denies the state's motion, the trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 21. If the state loses at trial, Georgia could be forced to spend more money on education or change the way it distributes money among school districts.