A divided Little Rock, Ark., school board has authorized its lawyer to file a lawsuit against the state over desegregation and charter schools.
The board voted 4-3 last week to allow the challenge to the practice of approving public charter schools in Pulaski County. Board member Mike Daugherty said the charter schools act as publicly funded private schools and take high-performing students away from the district. The state is also disregarding the impact on the district’s desegregation efforts, he said.
School lawyer Chris Heller said he would contact the state attorney general’s office about trying to negotiate a settlement. Mr. Heller said he could file a motion in federal court as soon as the end of next week.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Richardson called for negotiations, but also said the state would aggressively fight any motion over charter schools.