The state is being sued by those who are unhappy with the charter school law. They want a judge to rule on whether the law is constitutional, and specifically how charter schools are funded using local and state tax dollars. Jody Owens (Mississippi director of the Southern Poverty Law Center) said Tuesday that they are asking Judge J. Dewayne Thomas to give a ruling. “We believe that the State Supreme Court will be the final judge in this case. It is important to note that there are no undisputed facts to this lawsuit. The Constitution says what the Constitution says, and the charter school law also says what it means. The Mississippi Constitution states that a school district’s Ad Valem taxes (or local funding) may only be used to maintain the schools it supervises. Another section of the Constitution is cited in the lawsuit. It states that the Legislature cannot appropriate money to schools that are not “free schools.” A “free school” is defined as a school that does not charge tuition, but must be controlled by the State Superintendent and the local superintendent. The lawsuit names Gov. Phil Bryant, the Mississippi Department of Education, and the Jackson Public Schools District are named as defendants. Bryant signed the 2013 public charter school bill. Bryant stated that charter schools are effective in “lifting poor children out of failing areas.” Bryant also claimed that the Mississippi Department of Education and the Jackson Public School District were the defendants. Bryant made the statement via email. It is amazing that the same organization would make people believe that its frivolous litigation was not intended to close charter schools.” Bryant described the lawsuit as a “scheme of Democrats and their allies” to overthrow the decisions of the elected lawmakers. Charter school supporters argue that taxes should follow each child regardless of whether they are in traditional public schools or charter schools. Gray Tollison (R-Oxford), Senate Education Chairman, pointed out other private entities that receive state funding such as special education programs. Mississippi charter schools receive funding on a per pupil basis. This is based on the school’s average attendance or number of students who attend at least 63 percent of school days. Local dollars are also available from ad valorem taxes. Owens stated that Judge Thomas’ possible ruling would likely be appealed. A ruling won’t immediately stop funding for the Jackson charter schools this school year, and it will allow the Legislature to create a “constitutional financing model” during 2017. A similar ruling by Washington’s Supreme Court in a similar lawsuit to that in Mississippi could jeopardize Washington’s charter schools. The charter school association had to raise private money to keep them open during the 2015-2016 school years. Washington legislators passed a law requiring that charter school funds come from the state lottery. Rachel Canter, executive director for Mississippi First charter school advocacy group, stated that there is no guarantee that current charter school students will not be affected by adverse rulings. “We all agree that any adverse decision in the county chancery courts would likely be appealed immediately to the Supreme Court. She stated that at that point, however our certainty ends. Canter stated that no one can predict what might happen in litigation. SPLC cannot guarantee it. She also said that she did not know how long it would take for the case to be resolved.