More than two years after a Kanawha County lawsuit tried to block public charter schools from growing its pilot program, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday the attorneys sued the wrong people.

The state supreme court's opinion said it believed Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey made a mistake issuing a preliminary injunction. It also said the attorney's for parents wanting to block the state's new charter school program sued the wrong people.

During the 2021 Legislative Session, lawmakers passed House Bill 2012 , creating the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board.

The PCSB is tasked with authorizing and approving public charter schools, but parents and teachers Sam Brunett and Robert McCloud sued West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw and Gov. Jim Justice to stop the PCSB from approving charter schools without a county vote.

The state's attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, represented the state in this case and said he was not surprised by the outcome.

"We have been saying it all along: the senate president, speaker of the house and governor were not the proper parties to the preliminary injunction," Morrisey said. "...The plaintiffs lack the jurisdictional standing necessary to pursue relief in court. Even so, the circuit court enjoined the governor."

A spokesperson for the West Virginia House of Delegates said: "Speaker Hanshaw was not a sponsor of House Bill 2012 from the 2021 legislative session. He and president Blair were named in the suit as a matter of general procedure. The legislature does not typically comment on legal challenges to the laws it enacts."

West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee said it's essential to have thorough, free public schools and creating a new entity of school board can cause legal constitution challenges.

"I think it's interesting that the claim is that you just sued the wrong parties. It's not saying that charter schools is not a violation of our state constitution," Lee said.

The state's PCSB executive director James Paul said: "Charter schools are constitutional in West Virginia. The PCSB will continue its mission to authorize quality schools that expand educational options for families across the state. We expect Nitro Preparatory Academy to open in fall 2024."

Article 12-1 of West Virginia's constitution said: "The legislature shall provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools."

Lee was concerned for the public school students when funding is given to the charter school system.

"We're continuing to back this down the road and all the time we're losing dollars for public education," Lee said.