Mississippi charter school parents ask to be heard in lawsuit

Four parents with children in charter schools are seeking to be heard in a lawsuit that could overturn the way Mississippi pays for the alternative form of public education.

The parents, who also either have or had children in the Jackson Public School District, are represented by an attorney for the conservative Mississippi Justice Institute.

They said Wednesday that they're requesting a chancery judge's permission to intervene in a lawsuit filed last month by the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of seven parents whose children attend JPS.

All three of Mississippi's charter schools are in Jackson and are operated by private, nonprofit groups. They receive tax money but are operated by a state Charter School Authorizer Board that's separate from local school districts and from the state Board of Education.

RELATED STORY: Parents on both sides talk charter school lawsuit

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