Whether a private entity that contracts with the State to operate a charter school engages in state action when it formulates a policy without coercion or encouragement by the government

QUESTION PRESENTED North Carolina—like most other states—authorizes private nonprofit corporations to operate charter schools that are open to all, tuition-free, and publicly funded, as an alternative to traditional, government-run public schools. Charter-school operators are broadly empowered to devise educational policies and pedagogical methods without state coercion or encouragement. They are generally exempt from the laws and the governmental chain of command that apply to traditional public schools and are governed instead by a charter contract with the State that imposes high-level performance and fiscal benchmarks. Petitioners operate such a charter school and exercised their independent policymaking authority to implement a school-uniform policy desired by parents who choose to send their children to the school. It is undisputed that the State played no role in creating the school-uniform policy. The question presented is: Whether a private entity that contracts with the State to operate a charter school engages in state action when it formulates a policy without coercion or encouragement by the government.