Dive Brief:
- The Northeast Charter Schools Network and five charter school families have filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court alleging that the state's current funding formula shortchanges them.
- The goal of the suit is to have the current funding formula declared "unconstitutional" and be re-written by legislators.
- According to the lawsuit, charter schools receive only 60% of the funding that their public school counterparts get, and the suit also brings up the fact that charters must pay for their own buildings.
Dive Insight:
According to the lawsuit, charter school students in Buffalo — where the lawsuit was filed — receive $13,700 per pupil, versus $23,500 for public school students.
“The total number of charter school children being deprived of their rights is staggering,” Harold Hinds, legal director for the Northeast Charter Schools Network, told the Associated Press.
Inequities between charter and traditional school funding has been brought up before, with the argument against disparate funding typically being that charters often get more outside funding from foundations and other philanthropic sources.