Equitable funding of PCSs lawsuit

In 2014, the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, Eagle Academy Public Charter School, and Washington Latin Public Charter School filed suit in federal court, asking that the D.C. government be directed to comply with the legal mandate that public charter school students receive the same amount of funding as their peers in the traditional public school system. The defendants in the suit are the mayor and chief financial officer, in their official capacities. District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), which is not involved financially with public charter schools, is not a defendant in the suit. FOCUS, which provides advocacy and other support to D.C.'s public charter schools, is coordinating the legal team that prepared the complaint. The plaintiffs request that the court require D.C. to follow the law, which requires equal funding regardless of type of public school. The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages, but rather funding equity between the sectors moving forward. The plaintiffs were supported by the Black Alliance for Educational Options, the Center for Education Reform, FOCUS, and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, who filed an Amicus Brief on behalf of the plaintiffs.

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