It may be harder for charter schools to get approval in Florida after an appellate court decision last week.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal on Dec. 2 struck down a 2006 law that lets applicants sidestep the state’s 67 county school boards by getting their charters from a state commission.

The law creating the Schools of Excellence Commission is in “total and fatal conflict” with the Florida Constitution, which gives the local boards—not the state—authority over public schools, Judge Edward T. Barfield wrote in the unanimous opinion.

He noted the commission is appointed by the state board of education, itself appointed by the governor, from recommendations by the governor, Senate president, and House speaker.

That means charter schools again will have to be approved by school boards, many of which are cool to the charter concept.

The ruling came in an appeal by the Duval County school district, one of 14 that challenged the law after the state board of education denied their requests to retain exclusive jurisdiction over charter schools. The law allowed such exceptions, but the state board denied a total of 28 requests while granting only three to local boards in Orange, Polk, and Sarasota counties.

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