State Supreme Court stands by charter school decision

By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday declined to reconsider a recent decision that declared the state's charter school law unconstitutional and left an estimated 16,500 students uncertain where they will receive an education next school year.

Through strongly worded court filings, the state Attorney General's Office and three charter schools had hoped to persuade one or more members of the court's 4-3 majority to change his or her minds. But the court rarely reverses itself on a decision, and the charter school case proved to be no exception.

Tony Roberts, president of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, called the court’s refusal to reconsider its decision a travesty.

“The majority of the Georgia Supreme Court has just found 16,000 innocent children in Georgia guilty of choosing a better education,” Roberts said. “And even worse, the justices have sentenced them, in many cases, to failing or inadequate schools."

State Attorney Sam Olens expressed disappointment with the court's decision. "However, the ruling is final, and the rule of law requires that such rulings be followed whether or not one agrees with them," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said the court's majority "made a mistake that will negatively impact the lives of thousands of Georgia children. ... It is a sad day for Georgia education.”

In May, the court found unconstitutional the 2007 law that created the Charter Schools Commission, saying it unlawfully granted the state authority to approve and fund charter schools over the objection of local school boards. The ruling affected 16 charter schools.

Last week, the state Board of Education approved a charter extension for Odyssey School/Georgia Cyber Academy, two campuses whose operations were overturned by the Supreme Court's decision. This was part of a backup plan that school and state officials had devised so the schools could continue providing uninterrupted service. Fourteen other charter schools still await answers.

After the Supreme Court issued its ruling, the state AG's office told the court its decision "calls into question the billions of state dollars spent every year on education and the significant role the state has in policy and supervision over systems and teachers."

In response, several local school districts, including those in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, told the court that the "parade-of-horribles" arguments brought by the state "could not be further from the truth." If state-created charter schools "represent the educational panacea their proponents claim, amending the constitution to permit all manner of them should be a light burden indeed," the districts said.