In a special meeting Monday night, the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted unanimously to rescind a March resolution to equalize state funding for charter and traditional public schools.
The vote came hours after lawmakers sent the governor legislation to create a grant program for underfunded schools, including brick-and-mortar charter schools. The board voted after a roughly 45-minute executive session with their recently hired outside legal counsel, Hall Estil shareholder John O'Connor.
The board's March resolution was an attempt to settle a 2017 lawsuit by the Oklahoma Public Charter School Association, which is seeking access to local funding charters don't currently get. Their latest action is subject to the association filing to dismiss the lawsuit and releasing all claims against the state board and State Department of Education. It's also subject to Gov. Kevin Stitt signing Senate Bill 229 into law, which he said Tuesday he will do once it reaches his desk.
Around 200 school districts across the state are part of legal challenges to the state board's March resolution.
