A group of parents has filed an expanded lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools, seeking to secure their right to elect representatives to local school councils.

Circuit judge Sophia Hall dismissed a similar case last month, but allowed Chicago-based attorney Elaine Siegel, the group's lead attorney working on a pro-bono basis, to re-file the complaint.

The case stems from the district's decision to install appointed councils at some alternative and small schools that previously had elected ones.

Hall will hear arguments in August.

"The fact she allowed us to re-file was very promising," says Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE), a non-profit parents' advocacy group.

The newly filed documents reflect a growing group of plaintiffs. PURE, the Chicago West Side branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, South Side United LSC Federation, and three local school councils have joined the suit.

Elected local school councils hire and fire the school principal and set the school's budget. They include six parents, two community representative, two teachers and the school principal. High school councils also include an appointed student representative.

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