## Facts

- Louisiana funds public elementary and secondary education primarily through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), a statewide formula developed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and implemented through legislative action.
- In 2014, the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 55 (SCR 55), applying a statutory formula (La. R.S. 17:3995) that allocates MFP funds to “New Type 2” charter schools authorized by BESE rather than local school boards.
- Under the formula, when a student enrolls in a New Type 2 charter school, MFP funding attributable to that student is allocated to the charter school on a per-pupil basis.
- Iberville Parish School Board, educator associations, and individual taxpayers challenged SCR 55 and related allocations, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
- Plaintiffs argued MFP allocations to New Type 2 charter schools improperly shifted resources away from parish and city school systems and effectively used local tax revenues (including ad valorem taxes) for charter schools and facilities that might not be publicly owned.
- The district court upheld SCR 55 and the MFP funding approach as constitutional.
- The court of appeal reversed and declared unconstitutional provisions of SCR 55, finding an unlawful diversion of MFP funds from parish and city school systems to charter schools under Louisiana Constitution article VIII, section 13(B).
- The Louisiana Supreme Court granted review in consolidated cases to determine whether the court of appeal erred.

## Issues

1. Whether Louisiana Constitution article VIII, section 13(B)–(C) prohibits allocating MFP funds to BESE-authorized “New Type 2” charter schools through SCR 55 and La. R.S. 17:3995.
2. Whether using local revenue measures in the MFP formula results in an unconstitutional transfer or diversion of local tax revenues earmarked for parish and city school systems to charter schools, including for improvements to facilities lacking public ownership.

## Decision

- The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the court of appeal and upheld the challenged provisions of SCR 55.
- The Court held the constitution does not bar payment of MFP funds to New Type 2 charter schools under the SCR 55/La. R.S. 17:3995 formula.
- The Court rejected the claim that SCR 55 transfers actual local tax revenues to charter schools; it found local revenues are used as inputs in the statewide funding calculation, not as funds being reallocated as local tax dollars.
- The Court treated New Type 2 charter schools as public schools for purposes of receiving MFP funds because they operate under state law and within the state’s regulated public education framework.

## Legal Principles

- MFP funding may be distributed through a statewide, student-based allocation mechanism so long as funds remain committed to public elementary and secondary education under Louisiana Constitution article VIII, section 13.
- BESE-authorized Type 2 charter schools may be treated as “public schools” for MFP funding when created, funded, and regulated under state public education law.
- Considering local revenue capacity (including local sales and ad valorem tax measures) in calculating a local cost share does not, by itself, constitute a diversion or transfer of specific local tax dollars.
- Constitutional language requiring a mechanism to allocate funds equitably to parish and city school systems does not categorically bar MFP allocations to public charter schools operating within the state’s public school structure.

## Conclusion

The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld SCR 55’s application of the MFP formula to BESE-authorized Type 2 charter schools, ruling that the constitution permits such allocations and that the formula’s use of local revenue measures does not amount to an unconstitutional diversion of local tax revenues.


Iberville Par. Sch. Bd. v. La. State Bd. of Elementary & Secondary Educ., 248 So. 3d 299 (La. 2018)