Charter School Constitutional Funding Challenges: North Carolina and Texas May Serve as Harbingers for the Future

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      University of Illinois Press. 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6903. Tel: 217-244-0626; Fax: 217-244-8082; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals.php
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      20
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Charter Schools; Educational Finance; Court Litigation; State Courts; Constitutional Law; Educational Equity (Finance); State Aid; Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      North Carolina; Texas
    • ISSN:
      0098-9495
    • Abstract:
      Presently, charter schools exist in 43 states. The Minnesota Legislature first created charter schools in the United States in 1991. As of 2018, there were nearly 7,000 charter schools in 43 states serving over approximately 3 million students. The creation, control, and mission of these schools varies from state to state. This analysis examines the state court challenges regarding the funding of charter schools across the nation within the last several years with specific examination regarding charter school suits which have constitutionally challenged the distribution of state and local moneys. Often, these inequity/inadequacy constitutional claims are somewhat similar to traditional public school challenges regarding the mechanisms of distributing state fiscal assistance to public schools. This analysis discusses the logic, as well as the courts' opinions, in upholding or denying the charter school claims. Particular attention is focused on the most recent cases from North Carolina and Texas wherein charter schools empirically and constitutionally argued that the distribution formula, as applied to charter schools, was constitutionally flawed as well as the claims of constitutional infirmities regarding the funding of charter schools. The constitutional challenges from North Carolina and Texas illustrate the complexity and substance of the questions before the state courts. In both instances, the courts had to examine the accounting structures as well as the broad educational clauses found within the state constitutions.
    • Abstract:
      ERIC
    • Publication Date:
      2020
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1262991