Schools

Georgia Supreme Court: State Charter Schools Unconstitutional

Imagine International Academy of Smyrna not affected by ruling, but officials still vocal in continuing fight for school choice.

The Supreme Court of Georgia struck down the act that created state commissioned charter schools, ruling them unconstitutional, in a move that will affect thousands of children in the state, but not those at .

Imagine International Academy of Smyrna (IAS) is a public charter school serving close to 600 students (K-8) in the Cobb County School District. While IAS was not affected, disappointed school officials pledged that all charter schools will press forward.

“Some districts do not support charter schools and we saw the commission as an impartial body,'' said Board Chair Cheryl Wilson. "This is a setback, but we will continue to fight for school choice.’’

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Two months ago, an effort to require charter schools to follow the same discipline and firing procedures as public schools was killed in a Georgia Senate subcommittee. If approved, the measure would have affected IAS.

In today’s case, seven local school districts -- Gwinnett, Bulloch, Candler, DeKalb, Atlanta, Griffin-Spalding and Henry -- sued former state Superintendent Kathy Cox, the Department of Education, the Charter Schools Commission, and three charter schools approved by the commission. 

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In May 2010, a trial court ruled in favor of the charter schools and today's opinion reverses that decision.

"Because our constitution embodies the fundamental principle of exclusive local control of general primary and secondary (K-12) public education, and the Act clearly and palpably violates ... by authorizing a state commission to establish competing state-created general K-12 schools under the guise of being "special schools," we reverse," the Supreme Court of Georgia opinion states.

Justice David Nahmias cast the dissenting opinion, calling the majority's reasoning, "Illogical," and its conclusion "overbroad."


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