OKCPS Files Lawsuit Over Charter School Funding Settlement

Oklahoma City Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against the State Board Of Education. This is because they are unhappy with a recent Charter School Settlement.

On Thursday, March 25th, the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted 4-3 to equalize funding between public school districts and charter schools.

OKCPS says the approval of the resolution was unexpected because the case was four years old.

The district claims the State Board of Education’s resolution could force districts across the state to share more money to public charter and virtual charter schools.

They say that money would come from building funds and from all local and state-dedicated allocations based on the number of students who live in their district but attend a charter or virtual charter school.

The district says tens of millions of dollars are at stake.

This all stems from a 2017 lawsuit. The Oklahoma Public Charter School Association sued the State Board of Education and asked the court to rule that the state Legislature intended for charter schools to receive all the same funding sources as school districts.

OKCPS said in a statement regarding their lawsuit against the Board of Education that they believe the board went beyond its authority and they are asking the court to go back and look at this funding and reconsider how it should be allocated.

Read Related: 'Hopeful This Was A Mistake': OKCPS Superintendent Weights In On Board Of Education's Action On Charter School Funding

Full statement from OKCPS:

"On March 31, 2021, OKCPS, as an intervening defendant, filed in Oklahoma County District Court, a Petition for Cross Claims against the Oklahoma State Board of Education (“State Board”). After no activity in the case for a year, the State Board took unexpected, sudden and unlawful action on March 25 to seek to equalize funding among charter schools, including virtual charter schools. A resolution was passed which seemed to be an attempt to settle the lawsuit, although the two intervening parties, OKCPS and TPS were unaware of the proposed resolution. Although our District leadership had requested that the State Board reconsider and rescind its recent action in order to avoid this additional legal step, there has been no movement. So, in order to further protect the interests of our students, the District now seeks a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction to restrain the State Board from implementing the attempted settlement. Additionally, the District requests that the Court issue a writ of prohibition against the State Board for exceeding its authority and make a determination as to the appropriate interpretation and application of the laws regarding the funding of public school districts and charter schools. It is unfortunate that because of the State Board’s overreaching action we are forced to continue directing our limited time and resources to address an issue that is clearly unlawful and not in the best interest of the more than 700,000 students who attend traditional public schools in Oklahoma. OKCPS remains committed to protecting the financial resources necessary to serve our students."

Read Related: Rural School District's Frustrated With State's New Sweeping Funding Change