The state’s top academic high school is the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology.

One of its claims to fame has been that it takes all comers. GSMST was opened by the district in 2007 as a charter school. Charter schools cannot have admissions requirements. Students won their seats at the academic powerhouse through a lottery.

However, GSMST is not renewing its charter, which mean it can impose admissions requirements. Now, students applying for next year must have completed high school algebra in middle school.

To learn why Gwinnett is requiring algebra, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog on MyAJC.com