Charter Schools and Constitutional Rights
Quiz time! Are charter schools allowed to violate students’ civil rights?
- A. Yes
- B. No
- C. Some
- D. We don’t know yet
The correct answer is “D – we don’t know yet.” Why? Because lawsuits over civil rights violations are being decided different ways. The key question is whether charter school management organizations count as “state agents” — that is, acting on behalf of a government body.
You might think it’s a straightforward question, but it’s not. Federal law is inconsistent. Some courts have decided that both for-profit and nonprofit management organizations, as private contractors, are not state agents
