WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Alliance submitted an amicus brief to the Mississippi State Supreme Court in support of public charter school students’ right to access state and local education funding.
Earlier this year, the court upheld the constitutionality of charter school funding in Mississippi, allowing state and local funding to follow the student to the public charter school of their choice. The court firmly established that when local tax dollars flow to public charter schools, “local tax dollars [are benefiting] local students,” and the National Alliance urges Mississippi’s highest court to uphold that ruling.
National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement:
“The issue before Mississippi’s highest court is of critical importance to Mississippi’s current and future public charter school students. We must ensure that public education resources serve public school students, not the education bureaucracy, and we urge the court to uphold the lower court’s decision to support this funding.”
According to a survey from March 2017, although public charter schools are relatively new in Mississippi, when given basic background information, 55 percent of Mississippi respondents supported having public charter schools in the state. In addition, 59 percent of respondents believed that public charter schools would affect education positively in their community.
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 www.publiccharters.org.
About the National Charter School Legal Action Fund
The Charter School Legal Action Fund (CSLAF) launched in November 2016 to support select public charter school cases with national impact. Learn more about the CSLAF and its work here.
