RALEIGH - With state lawmakers back in session, local public school districts across the state are making a somewhat unexpected request.

Some school systems want lawmakers to give them the authority to approve and operate their own charter schools, without having to get permission from the state. Dr. Jim Merrill is superintendent of the Wake County Public School System,

"Those are some exciting things that public schools should be allowed to explore that right now we are prohibited from."

North Carolina currently has 148 charter schools, with another 11 scheduled to open in the fall.