By Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of Reinventing America’s Schools
On the eve of last week’s annual School Choice Week celebration, the Supreme Court gave millions of parents, teachers, and students, including the public charter school community, a surprising gift. Many Americans are likely unaware of pending legal activity in Washington, D.C., that could dramatically alter public education as we’ve known it. The pending litigation is a big deal, and the Supreme Court acted with common sense by seeking outside advice on whether or not to take the case.
The case at issue is Peltier v. Charter Day School. The defendant, Charter Day School (CDS), has appealed an en banc ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling legally designated the North Carolina public charter school as a public school, finding that it had acted under the “color of state law” when it implemented a policy prohibiting girls from wearing pants to school.
