TALLAHASSEE -- It may be harder for charter schools to get approval in Florida after an appellate court decision Tuesday.

A three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal struck down a 2006 law that lets applicants sidestep the state's 67 county school boards by getting their charters instead from a state commission.

The law creating the Schools of Excellence Commission is in ''total and fatal conflict'' with the Florida Constitution, which gives the local boards -- not the state -- authority over public schools, Judge Edward T. Barfield wrote in the unanimous opinion.

''This statute permits and encourages the creation of a parallel system of free public education escaping the operation and control of local elected school boards,'' Barfield wrote.

He noted the commission is appointed by the State Board of Education, itself appointed by the governor, from recommendations by the governor, Senate president and House speaker.

That means charter schools again will have to be approved by school boards, many of which are cool to the charter concept. Charter schools get public money but are run by private individuals, groups and organizations -- and in some cases public agencies.

Tuesday's decision will affect only a handful of charter schools in the state. A majority of Florida's 384 charter schools were approved by their local school boards.

The 19 new charters recently approved by the Miami-Dade School Board are not in any jeopardy.

The commission was considering opening as many as 10 new charter schools this year. It was not immediately clear what would happen to those schools.

Broward Superintendent Jim Notter said the ruling will only be a relief if it isn't challenged.

''It had the potential to drain additional much needed public dollars away from district schools,'' Notter said.

In addition, he said, ``if a charter school closes, I own the kids the next day. They're public school children who ultimately we have the responsibility for.''

Tuesday's ruling came in an appeal by the Duval County School District, one of 14 that challenged the law after the State Board of Education denied their requests to retain exclusive jurisdiction over charter schools. The law allowed such exceptions, but the state board denied a total of 28 requests while granting only three to local boards in Orange, Polk and Sarasota counties.

Education Commissioner Eric Smith said no decision has yet been made on whether to appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.

''It reaffirms the importance of school boards,'' said Ron Meyer, a lawyer for the Duval board. ``The people have said we want an elected school board.''

Meyer, whose other clients include the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union, called the ruling ''far-reaching'' but said he didn't know that it portends challenges to other parallel systems.

Frank Attkisson, executive director of the commission, said the group planned to shift its mission away from approving large numbers of charter schools anyway. They presented that plan to the state Board of Education on Tuesday.

The lawsuits triggered that rethinking.

''Instead of passing out charters,'' he said, ``why don't we use them in a beneficial way.''

He wants the state Legislature to pass a law that would change the commission's work. But if the ruling is upheld by the Florida Supreme Court, or not appealed, he said, whatever the group's mission ``we don't operate anymore.''

Miami Herald staff writers Nirvi Shah and Kathleen McGrory, and Associated Press writer Christine Armario in Orlando contributed to this report.

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