Chicago teachers union sues to stop public funding of virtual school

The AP reports:

Lawyers for the Chicago Teachers Union filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to withdraw public money for the state's first online public school, claiming it doesn't qualify for the funds under Illinois law.

The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court argues that the Chicago Virtual Charter School, which opened last month despite stiff union opposition, amounts to home-schooling and so doesn't meet the criteria for public funding.

The lawsuit - which names as defendants the online school, the Illinois State Board of Education, Chicago Public Schools and several state officials - asks the court to order various bodies to stop disbursing government money to the school.

"This school clearly violates the Illinois School Code as a home based charter school," the teachers union president, Marilyn Stewart, said in a statement Wednesday. Stewart has criticized the school earlier as experimental and of unproven value.

Some people are concerned about their pensions.