Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County Schools are now plaintiffs in the first legal challenge to the controversial 2008 law establishing the independent Charter Schools Commission.
Hall County school board members last week threw their support behind the suit but stopped short of joining the litigation.
Under that law, groups seeking to start charter schools can gain approval even if they've been denied backing by their local district.
The lawsuit claims the law is unconstitutional because the commission is in effect creating an independent school system, which is prohibited by the state constitution.
Defendants include Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, the state Department of Education and the commission. Department spokesman Matt Cardoza declined comment.
(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/10/224287