EdChoice Legal Advocates Moves to Defend Montana Charter Schools
Press Release: For Immediate Release
August 5, 2024
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Ann Marie Miller, EdChoice
Ann@edchoice.org | 312-841-4961
EdChoice Legal Advocates Defends Montana Charter Schools in Court
EdLA Helps Lead Coalition Filing “Friend of the Court” Brief in Felchle v. Montana
HELENA – EdChoice Legal Advocates, joined by Montana’s Frontier Institute, is leading a coalition in filing an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in a case challenging the Community Choice Schools Act, which authorizes Community Choice Schools as options for Montana families. The Montana Family Foundation and the Mountain States Policy Center joined the brief as well, which was filed August 2, 2024.
With the passage of the Community Choice Schools Act in 2023, Montana joined 45 other states with laws that expressly authorize the creation of public charter schools (called Choice Schools under Montana’s charter framework) as options for families. Filed in June 2023, a court case challenging the constitutionality of the Choice Schools Act remains pending before Montana District Court in Lewis and Clark County.
“All around the country, charter schools provide innovative options for families seeking better schools for their kids,” said Thomas M. Fisher, vice president and director of litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates (EdLA), a division of EdChoice, Inc. “Montana’s Community Choice Schools provide critical options for Montana families following a legal framework used in other states, which is why we are pleased to help lead a coalition of groups defending the Choice Schools Act.”
Plaintiffs in the case argue that the Community Choice Schools Commission, which authorizes Community Choice Schools, improperly exercises the constitutional supervisory power of the Board of Public Education, but EdLA’s brief points out that the state Board retains full supervisory authority over Community Choice Schools, just like other public schools. And it identifies 15 other states with similar “supervisory power” constitutional provisions that are not understood to vest state education boards with exclusive control over administering public schools.
EdLA’s brief also tells the success story of charter schools, which perform better than traditional public schools because they are freed from the regulatory burdens that apply to traditional public schools.
Since 1992, 46 states and the District of Columbia have adopted charter school laws, 7,998 charter schools have opened, and in the 2021-2022 school year (the most recent year with available data) charter schools educated over 3.7 million American students. This long history has provided much data on the innovation and success of charter schools.
Research demonstrates that students attending charter schools have seen increases in learning gains, higher standardized test schools, better high school graduation rates, higher college enrollment and persistence rates, and higher earnings compared with their non-charter school peers.
“It’s abundantly clear that Montana’s Community Choice Schools Act is constitutional, consistent with charter school programs in other states, and will enable quality public education options for students,” said Kendall Cotton, President & CEO of Frontier Institute. “We and our co-signers are asking the court to uphold the Community Choice Schools Act and preserve this opportunity for Montana communities to expand the local public education system with student-centered Choice Schools.”
To be connected with Thomas Fisher, contact Ann Marie Miller at ann@echoice.org.
EdChoice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to advance educational freedom and choice for all students as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society, launched EdLA in 2023 to defend school choice programs in the states.
Case documents:
Felchle v. State Amicus filing
EdChoice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to advance educational freedom and choice for all students as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society, launched EdLA in 2023 to defend school choice programs in the states.
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