JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has declared a complete victory for Missouri students after the Cole County Circuit Court upheld a state law expanding charter school opportunities in Boone County.
Hanaway
“As a mother, I know families need options that fit their child, not a one-size-fits-all system,” Hanaway said of the October 29 decision. “This win protects educational opportunity and keeps the focus on what families need, not what institutions prefer.
“We will keep fighting to ensure students have the support, resources, and options they need to succeed.”
After the Missouri State Board of Education approved St. Louis University’s application to sponsor a public charter school in Columbia, Columbia Public Schools sued the board, the State of Missouri and Hanaway. The school district challenged the constitutionality of the statute that authorized charter schools in Boone County, and sought to block the Board’s action.
Circuit Judge Emily Fretwell rejected that challenge to the statute, ruling that the law is not an unconstitutional local or special law and does not violate the Missouri Constitution.
“This court is compelled to ‘accept (the) Legislature’s generalizations even when there is an imperfect fit between means and ends,” Fretwell wrote. “A classification does not fail rational-basis review because it is not made with mathematical nicety or because in practice it results in some inequality. The problems of government are practical ones and may justify, if they do not require, rough accommodations illogical, it may be, and unscientific. …
“Under rational-basis review, the court does not seek to judge the ‘wisdom, fairness or logic of the legislative choices.’ The court only looks for any ‘plausible reason for the classification in question.’ regardless of whether the reasoning is imperfect of speculative.
While not perfect, Section 160.400.2(5) rationally distinguishes between Boone County and every other county in the state. Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden to prove that it is a local or special law. This is fatal to all of plaintiffs’ claims.”
Because the statute is constitutional, the court also ruled that the State Board of Education’s approval of an application in Boone County was lawful. Columbia Public Schools’ request for declaratory and injunctive relief was denied, ending the case in a complete victory for the State.
The case was tried by Assistant Solicitor General Ryan Dugan.
