JACKSON — A new lawsuit seeks to block charter schools in Mississippi, arguing that they violate the state constitution by making school districts share property tax collections with schools they don’t supervise or control.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant called the lawsuit a frivolous attempt by “Democrats and their allies” to usurp decisions made by the GOP-majority Legislature.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed the suit Monday in Hinds County Chancery Court on behalf of seven parents who send their children to Jackson Public Schools. The suit is against the Jackson school district, the governor and the Mississippi Department of Education.
Charter schools are operated by private, nonprofit groups. They receive tax money but are operated by a state Charter School Authorizer Board that’s separate from local school districts and from the state Board of Education.
Mississippi’s only two charter schools are in Jackson, and a third one is set to open in the city this year.
Supporters say charter schools allow for greater innovation in curriculum and teaching styles. Bryant signed the Mississippi Charter Schools Act of 2013, and the suit refers to the law as the CSA.
“The CSA heralds a financial cataclysm for public school districts across the state,” the lawsuit says.
It says that “as a direct result of the unconstitutional CSA funding provisions, traditional public schools will have fewer teachers, books and educational resources. These schools will no longer be able to provide Mississippi schoolchildren the education that they are constitutionally entitled to receive.”
Bryant said in a statement Tuesday: “Mississippi’s charter school law has proven effective at lifting poor and underserved children out of failing districts. It is astonishing that an organization whose stated mission is to advocate for that population would use the court system to attack school choice, which empowers those same people with options to secure the best education possible for their children.”
A spokesman for Jackson Public Schools did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit. The state Department of Education referred questions to the attorney general’s office.
“We are currently reviewing the lawsuit and, as with all cases, we will respond in court at the appropriate time,” said Rachael Ring, spokeswoman for Attorney General Jim Hood.
Mississippi First, a group that advocates charter schools, said in a statement Tuesday that the lawsuit creates uncertainty for nearly 500 students and their parents about whether charter schools will open on time in August. The group said the suit does not question the quality of education in charter schools.
“SPLC’s lawsuit is based on a belief that public charter school students — real public school children from some of the most underserved communities in the city of Jackson — do not deserve the public dollars raised in their own communities to support their education. … The parents who chose to send their children to a public charter school did so because their children were not thriving in the traditional system,” the Mississippi First statement said.
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