
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, November 3, 1994                   TAG: 9411030086
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LANSING, MICH.                                 LENGTH: Short

NO STATE FUNDS FOR 'CHARTER SCHOOLS'

A judge has blocked Michigan from establishing so-called charter schools that would compete with public schools for students and state dollars.

Circuit Judge William Collette ruled Tuesday that the alternative schools aren't eligible for state funding, in part because they aren't directly governed by the state Board of Education.

``This court determines that a school must be under the immediate, exclusive control of the state to pass constitutional muster, as well as being open to all students that care to attend,'' Collette wrote.

Leaders of the state teachers' union and others had gone to court to challenge the establishment of charter schools, alleging the plan amounted to spending state money on private education.

Gov. John Engler, who has backed the idea as a way of creating competition that will improve schools and encourage innovation, said he would appeal the ruling.

Michigan is one of several states that turned to charter schools as an option in the national debate over school choice.

Under such setups, state aid that ordinarily accompanies each student to a public school goes instead with the student to the charter school, which is free to set its own hours and have more leeway in meeting state education standards.

by CNB