Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County
www.icpe-monroecounty.org
Contact: Alex Tanford
Phone: 812-332-4966
Email: [email protected]
April 25, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES CHARTER FOR SEVEN OAKS CLASSICAL SCHOOL, SAYS AUTHORIZATION BY A RELIGIOUS BODY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Bloomington, Indiana—The Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County, an association of parents, teachers, and other supporters of public schools, filed suit today in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Indiana statute that permitted Grace College and Seminary to authorize a charter for Seven Oaks Classical School after the Indiana Charter School Board denied it. The lawsuit asks the court to void the charter and stop any further taxpayer money from going to either Seven Oaks or Grace College.
Named as defendants in the suit are Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction, who chairs the State Board of Education; the executive director of the Indiana Charter School Board; and Seven Oaks Classical School in Ellettsville, Indiana.
“Our chief concern is that Indiana law permits religious institutions like Grace College to decide whether to authorize charter schools,” said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, chair of ICPE–Monroe County. “Charter schools are taxpayer-supported and take money away from our school corporations, so only state and local officials answerable to the public should be able to authorize them.”
On its web site, Grace College and Seminary describes itself as an evangelical Christian institution which applies biblical values to its educational mission, emphasizes a biblical worldview, and teaches students to recognize scripture as the inerrant and inspired Word of God.
The complaint asserts that permitting an evangelical institution to review Seven Oaks’ proposed curriculum and decide whether to authorize a charter violates the federal constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Indiana law does not provide criteria or standards for reviewing a charter application, evaluating the educational quality of the proposal, or ensuring that religious criteria are not used as the basis for approval. The decision to authorize a charter is not reviewable by state officials.
The complaint also challenges a provision in state law that gives up to 3% of a charter school’s public funds to the authorizer—in this case, Grace College and Seminary. “That would seem to violate the Indiana constitution, which says flatly that no money may be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious institution,” said lead attorney Alex Tanford, professor emeritus at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Seven Oaks Classical School’s application for a charter was vigorously contested in Monroe County, in part because of its affiliation with the Barney Charter School Initiative from Hillsdale College, a nonsectarian Christian institution in Michigan. Founding board members of Seven Oaks applied unsuccessfully for a charter two times to the Indiana Charter School Board, in the summer of 2014 and again in the spring of 2015. They then took the application to Grace College and Seminary, which approved their charter in January, 2016. Seven Oaks began operating as a school in September, 2016.
When students leave their public school districts for a charter school, the districts lose money. “School funding is based on a per-pupil formula, so if the number of students goes down, the schools receive less money,” said Fuentes-Rohwer. The problem is that expenses do not go down proportionately. “It’s not like all the students going to Seven Oaks came from the same school so we could save money by closing it,” she said. “When one or two students leave a classroom, we still need the same teacher and still use the same electricity. There is just less money to pay for it, and programs begin to suffer.”
“Our membership cares deeply about the future of public schools in Indiana,” said Fuentes-Rohwer. “By tradition, public schools are open to all, serve as community centers, are a key democratic institution answerable to the public, and provide an inclusive forum where kids of all abilities, ethnicities, religions, viewpoints and socioeconomic backgrounds get to know each other. Charter schools and vouchers undermine this critical role that public schools play in our society. They divide us and facilitate isolation from different views, and should not be taxpayer funded.”
In Indiana, various entities can authorize charters, including local school boards, the Indiana Charter School Board, the mayor of Indianapolis, and public and private colleges. There is no limit on the number of times that a school’s organizers can apply for a charter.
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For further information about the lawsuit, please contact Alex Tanford at 812-332-4966 or [email protected].
To learn more about ICPE–Monroe County, go to http://www.icpe-monroecounty.org/ or contact the organization’s chair, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, at 812-320-4400.
The complaint can be viewed online.
www.icpe-monroecounty.org
Contact: Alex Tanford
Phone: 812-332-4966
Email: [email protected]
April 25, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES CHARTER FOR SEVEN OAKS CLASSICAL SCHOOL, SAYS AUTHORIZATION BY A RELIGIOUS BODY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Bloomington, Indiana—The Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County, an association of parents, teachers, and other supporters of public schools, filed suit today in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Indiana statute that permitted Grace College and Seminary to authorize a charter for Seven Oaks Classical School after the Indiana Charter School Board denied it. The lawsuit asks the court to void the charter and stop any further taxpayer money from going to either Seven Oaks or Grace College.
Named as defendants in the suit are Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction, who chairs the State Board of Education; the executive director of the Indiana Charter School Board; and Seven Oaks Classical School in Ellettsville, Indiana.
“Our chief concern is that Indiana law permits religious institutions like Grace College to decide whether to authorize charter schools,” said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, chair of ICPE–Monroe County. “Charter schools are taxpayer-supported and take money away from our school corporations, so only state and local officials answerable to the public should be able to authorize them.”
On its web site, Grace College and Seminary describes itself as an evangelical Christian institution which applies biblical values to its educational mission, emphasizes a biblical worldview, and teaches students to recognize scripture as the inerrant and inspired Word of God.
The complaint asserts that permitting an evangelical institution to review Seven Oaks’ proposed curriculum and decide whether to authorize a charter violates the federal constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Indiana law does not provide criteria or standards for reviewing a charter application, evaluating the educational quality of the proposal, or ensuring that religious criteria are not used as the basis for approval. The decision to authorize a charter is not reviewable by state officials.
The complaint also challenges a provision in state law that gives up to 3% of a charter school’s public funds to the authorizer—in this case, Grace College and Seminary. “That would seem to violate the Indiana constitution, which says flatly that no money may be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious institution,” said lead attorney Alex Tanford, professor emeritus at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Seven Oaks Classical School’s application for a charter was vigorously contested in Monroe County, in part because of its affiliation with the Barney Charter School Initiative from Hillsdale College, a nonsectarian Christian institution in Michigan. Founding board members of Seven Oaks applied unsuccessfully for a charter two times to the Indiana Charter School Board, in the summer of 2014 and again in the spring of 2015. They then took the application to Grace College and Seminary, which approved their charter in January, 2016. Seven Oaks began operating as a school in September, 2016.
When students leave their public school districts for a charter school, the districts lose money. “School funding is based on a per-pupil formula, so if the number of students goes down, the schools receive less money,” said Fuentes-Rohwer. The problem is that expenses do not go down proportionately. “It’s not like all the students going to Seven Oaks came from the same school so we could save money by closing it,” she said. “When one or two students leave a classroom, we still need the same teacher and still use the same electricity. There is just less money to pay for it, and programs begin to suffer.”
“Our membership cares deeply about the future of public schools in Indiana,” said Fuentes-Rohwer. “By tradition, public schools are open to all, serve as community centers, are a key democratic institution answerable to the public, and provide an inclusive forum where kids of all abilities, ethnicities, religions, viewpoints and socioeconomic backgrounds get to know each other. Charter schools and vouchers undermine this critical role that public schools play in our society. They divide us and facilitate isolation from different views, and should not be taxpayer funded.”
In Indiana, various entities can authorize charters, including local school boards, the Indiana Charter School Board, the mayor of Indianapolis, and public and private colleges. There is no limit on the number of times that a school’s organizers can apply for a charter.
###
For further information about the lawsuit, please contact Alex Tanford at 812-332-4966 or [email protected].
To learn more about ICPE–Monroe County, go to http://www.icpe-monroecounty.org/ or contact the organization’s chair, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, at 812-320-4400.
The complaint can be viewed online.