We are saddened over the Georgia Supreme Court decision striking down the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. This is bad news for thousands of children and parents who hoped for a brighter future with their children.
This is bad news to Georgia’s 16 commission-approved schools either operating today or planning to open in the fall with more than 15,000 students. These students have a right to be very upset today that their futures are threatened.
This is bad news to Georgia where our students’ academic performance and graduation rates are among some of the lowest in the nation. Charter schools are the one education reform that has support in every part of the political spectrum — Republican, Democratic, liberal and conservative. And the commission promised to see that more students would have that option.
We are in agreement with Justice David Nahmias’ 75-page dissent exposing the fallacious reasoning of the majority opinion of the high court. He wrote that “four judges have wiped away a small but important effort to improve public education in Georgia — an effort that reflects not only the education policy of this state’s elected representatives but also the national education policy of the Obama administration.”
We want to make clear that this decision does not affect all of Georgia’s charter schools. For more than 160 charter schools with more than 65,000 students approved by their local school district, this ruling has no effect. However, for the schools authorized by the commission, we honestly do not know their future. These schools are some of the highest performing in Georgia, serving thousands of students who were not getting the education they deserved before their charter school.
Schools like Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all-girls school that has produced some of the highest CRCT scores in the state. CCAT-Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Technology, a high school in Bulloch County that yielded some of the highest graduation rates. Georgia Cyber Academy that has attracted thousands of children across Georgia to a most innovative method of instructing students that might not thrive in the traditional public school.
Peachtree Hope Charter School that has provided more than 600 students in Atlanta who had no hope in their previous schools with a new sense of pride in learning and achievement and the belief instilled that they could accomplish anything they choose in life, regardless of race or economic status. The success of these students and thousands of others is threatened by this ruling.
It’s important to remember that the commission was created after local school districts began blocking the development of all charter schools. The year before the law establishing the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, 26 charter petitions were submitted to school districts and all 26 were denied.
Now we are right back where we were. Students and their parents who want a quality charter school are at the mercy of local school districts.
We believe Gov. Nathan Deal and the Legislature will pursue whatever remedies are necessary to sustain these commission-approved schools and work for a permanent solution, including possibly a change to our constitution. Additionally, we believe Superintendent John Barge is working on a more immediate solution to ensure that the education of these children is not compromised. We will not rest until we see this fixed and all children have the opportunity to attend a high-quality charter school when that is their choice.
Tony Roberts is CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association.
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