Dive Brief:
- Louisiana District Judge Wilson Fields on Friday ruled against the Louisiana Association of Educators in a lawsuit that sought to halt money approved for 33 charter schools by the state's board of education.
- Fields' decision only denied a preliminary injunction requested by the union's lawsuit, which challenges the constitutionality of using $60 million in public school financing formula funds to benefit charter schools operating outside of public systems.
- A decision on a permanent injunction request from the union lawsuit and another suit filed by the Iberville Parish school system will be made on Dec. 5.
Dive Insight:
Fields didn't rule on the merits of the union or district's lawsuits, but did say that both had failed to prove the decision to provide state aid to the 33 charters had done irreparable harm to them. The union's suit in particular accused the state of spending $60 million annually on two kinds of charters that aren't eligible for the $3.6 billion Minimum Foundation Program's aid. According to the Advocate, the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools reports that 59,000 students are enrolled in 117 Louisiana charter schools.
