Constitutionality of Mich. Charter Law Weighed

By Peter Schmidt

Michigan's state superintendent has approved the public charters of eight schools, but their fate and that of the state charter-school law remained unclear last week as a judge weighed the law's constitutionality.

Judge William Collette of Ingham County Circuit Court has blocked the state from providing funds to the schools until he decides whether the charter-school law that led them to be granted "public" status conforms to the state constitution. A decision is likely this week, officials said.

In a related development, Superintendent of Public Instruction Robert E. Schiller late last month denied a ninth charter school, Noah Webster Academy, classification as a public school and access to state funds. The academy has drawn fierce opposition from critics who have charged it is essentially a private...