Lawsuit brought by teachers union aims to defund Type 2 charter public schools, likely kicking out over 13,000 students from their schoolsBATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday, September 5, in a watershed case that could affect the education of more than 13,000 Louisiana children. Initiated and aided by the state teachers union, Iberville Parish School Board, et al v. Louisiana State Elementary and Secondary Education Board, et al, attempts to cut off funding to Type 2 charter public schools in the state that serve over 13,000 students. PublicSchoolOptions.org (PSO) and Louisiana parents Jennette Franklin and Christin White-Kaiser, who have children attending Louisiana public charter schools, some of whom are directly threatened by the frivolous lawsuit, are an amici in the case.Data collected and submitted in the PSO amicus brief reveals that on average, 75 percent of students would be forced to return to lower-performing district schools than the Type 2 charter public schools they currently attend. For example, of the 860 students enrolled in Lake Charles Charter Academy, 85 percent would be forced back to lower-performing district schools. At some Type 2 charter public schools, 100 percent would be sent to lower-performing schools.The teachers union filed a motion with the supreme court to not allow this data into the record.DATA ANALYSIS

To view the full analysis, see pages 20-26.STATEMENT FROM CHRISTIN WHITE-KAISER, AMICI AND LOUISIANA PSO MEMBER:“Forcing 75 percent of these students into lower-performing schools that have already failed to meet their learning needs is an absolute tragedy and one that parents will not stand for. The teachers union claims to have the best interests of students at heart, but it’s clear they have no regard for what it best for students, especially because they asked that this data be struck from the court record. Parents need to be trusted to decide where their children go to school and we hope that choice will not be taken away because of this lawsuit.” The district court, in May of 2015, established that charter schools are public schools and the current funding mechanism established by the state can continue. Despite the district court’s ruling, the teachers union pushed forward with an appeal. In January of this year the appeals court sided with the teachers union, triggering an appeal to the supreme court. PublicSchoolOptions.org is a national alliance of over 60,000 parents that supports and defends parents’ rights to access the best public school options for their children. The Coalition supports the creation of public school options, including charter schools, online schools, magnet schools, open enrollment policies and other innovative education programs. Additionally, we advocate for equal access without restrictions to the school that best suits the individual student’s learning needs whether it is public, non-public or home-based.###