Both Decatur and Marietta city schools today became two of Georgia's first "charter" systems — piloting what state officials hope will be a nationally recognized effort to free local school systems from red tape.

State Board of Education members also approved a third system, Gainesville City. A fourth system, Chattahoochee County, failed; the board voted it down unanimously. State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox had recommended Chattahoochee be denied.

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Decatur, Marietta and Gainesville join Warren County, a small three-school system that won board approval last month. Charter status for all four systems goes into effect in August with the new school year.

The application process took nearly a year to complete and was made possible by a year-old state law that allows entire school systems to seek charter status and operate relatively free of state control.

The law is unique nationally. Expanding on the concept of individual charter schools, it exempts charter systems from many of the state laws and practices applicable to conventional school districts.

In exchange, charter systems must demonstrate progress or risk losing their special status. What that progress should be is spelled out in a charter, or contract, written by the local school system and approved by the state.

For example, the state dictates how many hours in class or "seat" time students must have to earn credit. Decatur as a charter district plans to also help students earn credit based on knowledge.