Constitutional Amendment Introduced to Mend Charter School Ruling

February 1, 2012

While last week's school choice rally was taking place on the Capitol steps, a resolution (HR 1162) was introduced by Speaker Pro Tempore, Jan Jones, to address last year's State Supreme Court ruling that found the State Charter Schools Commission to be unconstitutional.

Georgia Family Council supports HR 1162 and is working with lawmakers to get it approved.

Limiting the State's Legitimate Authority
In the view of many, including Georgia's Attorney General, the Court's ruling effectively said that the state should have no role (outside of providing funding) in public education in Georgia. Instead, the Court found that local districts have "exclusive" authority to make decisions related to education in their districts.

However, the decision flies in the face of the Georgia Constitution, which mandates (in Article VIII) that "[t]he provision of an adequate public education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia." The Constitution then goes on to give the legislature the power to tax the citizens in order to fulfill its mandate.

Based upon these constitutional provisions, the state has operated for decades under the reasonable belief that if the state is mandated to "provide for an adequate education" then it has the authority and responsibility to ensure funding of education and to set standards for academic achievement. All of Title 20 of the Georgia Code is predicated on the belief that the state has authority over public education.

Because of the Supreme Court's decision, the state is left in an untenable position of funding almost half of public education but having no ability to set standards or otherwise regulate the system, including providing new schools to students who need them.

The Charter Schools Commission, while most directly and immediately impacted by the decision, is just an example of how the Court's decision can be used to invalidate state efforts to improve education - including laws that have been in force for decades.

A Constitutional Remedy
HR 1162 calls for an amendment to the State Constitution to reestablish the state's authority relative to public education. The bill was heard in a joint session of the House and Senate Education Committees last Thursday where Georgia Family Council's Director of Government Relations Jamie Lord testified in favor of the resolution.

The bill is expected to receive a vote in the House Education Committee tomorrow (Thursday).