Washington, D.C. In a hearing today, the Judicial District Court of East Baton Rouge in Louisiana sustained the constitutional rights of state-funded Type 2 charter schools to receive dollars from a state-run funding program as well as the constitutionality of the existing funding formula by the program.
Last year, the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools and seven Type 2 charter schools disputed a lawsuit filed by the Iberville Parish School Board and the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) that sought to strip the states Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funding from Type 2 charter schools and invalidate the states current MFP funding formula, which is allocated on a per-pupil basis. Under the MFP, funding follows students to these charter schools that are authorized by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education instead of the local district.
Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released the following statement in support of the association and Type 2 charter schools in Louisiana.
“This is a big win for LAPCS and Type 2 Charter Schools in Louisiana. The ruling today supports and protects the right of these charters and their students to receive funding from the MFP.
“For states with charter school laws, fairly and equitably funding charter schools has been a constant challenge. When parents decide to send their children to public charter schools, the money should follow those students. Todays ruling goes a long way toward protecting fair funding in Louisiana and sends a strong message to other states across the nation that public school students deserve equitable funding, regardless of the public school they attend.”
Currently, Louisiana is home to 33 Type 2 charters schools that serve approximately 18,000 students.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many independent research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.
