Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Charter Schools and Constitutional Rights | Seattle Education

Charter Schools and Constitutional Rights | Seattle Education:

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