JACKSON — The political debate about charter schools has been rumbling for years in the Mississippi Capitol and in the broader forum of public opinion.
Now, a lawsuit is moving the fight into a Hinds County chancery courtroom.
Charter schools receive taxpayer money but, unlike most public schools, they’re not run by a local board and they don’t answer to the state Board of Education. Instead, they are overseen by a state-level Charter School Authorizer Board.
Supporters say charters have more flexibility than traditional public schools to use different approaches to teaching and discipline.
Opponents, though, say that charters are unproven and they drain money from other public schools, serving only a few students at the expense of the vast majority.
Only two charter schools are operating in the state so far, and a third is set to open in the coming academic year. All three are in the capital city, where the local district — Jackson Public Schools — has a D rating on an A-to-F scale, according to the 2014-15 grades released Thursday by the state Department of Education.
Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit July 11 seeking to close the existing charter schools and prevent any more from opening. On behalf of seven JPS parents, the suit argues that charter schools violate the state constitution by making school districts share property tax collections with schools they don’t supervise or control.
It says that as a result of a charter school law signed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in 2013, “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.”
The Mississippi NAACP issued a statement supporting the suit, and several groups countered by calling the litigation harmful.
“The landscape of public education has room for new ideas,” state NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “However, innovation must not come at the expense of our state’s traditional public school system. We must endeavor to improve our public education system, not destroy it.”
Forrest Thigpen, president of the conservative nonprofit Mississippi Center for Public Policy, said: “Parents who have enough money to move to a better district or to send their children to private schools already have options. Charter schools, as demonstrated by the student population at the two schools that opened this year, primarily serve families who cannot afford either of those options.”
JPS, the governor and the state Board of Education are named as defendants in the suit, and in a statement three days after it was filed, JPS spokesman Sherwin Johnson said district officials had not yet been served with a copy.
“We merely follow the law as it relates to funding of charter schools,” Johnson said. “We value public education.”
Mississippi has long struggled in national academic rankings, though it has seen some improvement in standardized test results in recent years. Charter school advocates say a different approach could boost achievement, but opponents say a better tactic would be to fully fund all public schools.
The 2013 state law said charter schools could only enroll students who live in the district where they operate. Bryant signed a revision this year, and it became law July 1. It removes the home-district requirement and says students who live in school districts with C, D or F ratings may attend charter schools anywhere in the state. Public money would follow: An amount equal to per-student local tax revenue would go to the charter school.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.