Washington, D.C. – On July 5th, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Missouri public charter school parents seeking to intervene in a case which threatens $50 million already given to public charter schools in St. Louis. In a reversal of a prior District Court decision, the 8th Circuit determined charter school parents have standing to intervene in the suit and remanded the case to trial court for further consideration of the underlying motion to intervene.
National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement in response to the Court of Appeals decision:
“The National Alliance and the National Charter School Legal Action Fund strongly support the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decision and urge the District Court to grant Missouri charter school parents’ motion to intervene in this important case. This attack seeks to take away $50 million from public charter school students – many of whom chose to attend St. Louis public charter schools to escape underperforming district schools. These students and their parents deserve to intervene in this case; their voices must be heard.”
The National Alliance and the National Charter School Legal Action Fund will continue to monitor the case and work with the Missouri Charter Public School Association, the state charter school association leading efforts locally.
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 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 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.
