A Virginia law that established a statewide board to take over and run unaccredited and consistently low-performing schools has been ruled to violate the state constitution.
In a ruling last month, Norfolk Circuit Judge Charles Poston sided with the Virginia School Boards Association and the Norfolk public schools, which filed the lawsuit last year. The judge said the state legislature has the right to address failing schools, but it must do so within a constitutional framework.
The ruling and injunction barred the state from taking over three Norfolk public schools and others across the state on July 1, as planned. The lawsuit was supported by more than two dozen school boards.
