The Florida Board of Education tomorrow will decide appeals from three prospective South Florida charter schools.

In different ways, the cases spotlight a key tension in the Sunshine State, between removing roadblocks to new charter schools, which must be approved by their local school boards, and stopping schools that are unqualified, unlikely to serve students well, or at risk of shutting down soon after they open.

In Broward County, the school district has come under scrutiny for a large number of sudden, unexpected charter school closures, prompting a suggestion that it should screen charter applicants more closely.

In the case set to come before the state board tomorrow, it denied the Phoenix Academy of Excellence's application after finding what a school board attorney described as "a number of areas of weaknesses or concern." When the case reached the state Charter School Appeals Commission, the district prevailed. (more…)

The Florida Board of Education sided today with three proposed charter schools in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties, overturning attempts by local school boards to stop them from opening.

After the decisions, one board member rebuked the school districts for creating roadblocks to new schools, which would replicate existing high-performing Somerset Academy charter schools.

Suzanne D'Agresta argues for the Indian River School Board before the state Board of Education.

"I think it is of benefit to our state for us to be as supportive and welcoming as possible to anyone — whether a traditional or charter school — that is doing great things for our students," Rebecca Fishman Lipsey told her fellow board members. Many of the objections to the proposed schools, she said, "seemed a lot like digging to find ways to potentially hold back someone from doing great things for kids."

The school boards in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties last fall rebuffed the charter school network, which is affiliated with the management company Academica.

Citing recent decisions by state appellate courts that blocked proposed replications of high-performing charter schools, the districts argued the proposed schools would not "substantially" replicate existing high-performing charters in Somerset's network.

Attorney Collette Papa said the proposed St. Lucie school and the Broward school it was trying to replicate shared the same "educational program design." The extant and future school would both serve middle-school grades, which wasn't true in the recent court cases.

Suzanne D'Agresta, an attorney for the Indian River school district, said she was concerned the proposed charters in her district would run afoul of a federal desegregation order, and did not offer detailed plans for recruiting black students.
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The Florida Board of Education this morning will hear an appeal from a charter school that was rejected by the Duval County School Board.

Sometimes state officials are confronted with tough calls, or situations where the state charter school appeals commission supports overturning the local board's rejection of a charter application. One such case, where the Palm Beach County School Board tried to take a stand against charter school growth, is making its way through a state appeals court.

In this case, however, the Duval school board unanimously voted not to approve the proposed Arts Academy of Jacksonville Preparatory School, and the appeals commission has voted to support their decision.

District staff found the school's application lacking or incomplete in important areas, from where it planned to recruit students to its plan for promoting academic excellence.

They also noted the operator's president briefly ran a school that quickly shut down, early in the 2009 school year. (The school, however, contends the administrator in question has since "gained more knowledge" and "obtained more experience" that would help her run a charter school successfully.) (more…)