Judge: Charter commission and funding are legal. Decision was swift, concise and pivotal
From standing on a foundation of Jell-o, the charter school movement reached solid ground at 1 p.m. today with the decision of Fulton County Superior judge that the state had the authority to approve charters over the objections of local school boards and to allocate a proportional share of local funding to them.
The threat of the lawsuit had put the new state Charter Schools Commission and the nine schools it approved on shaky ground.
No more. Judge Wendy Shoob gave them a clear victory, delivered seconds after the attorneys for the state and for the charter schools being sued wrapped up their rebuttals to the seven districts suing them.
In a nutshell, Shoob ruled that the commission was legal and the funding met constitutional muster.
The decision was concise, swift and pivotal – a triple play for the charter school team.
More to come, but I wanted to get this out there.
Here, by the way, is the statement from the Georgia Charters School Association:
Judge Shoob’s ruling came after listening to arguments from seven school districts (Atlanta City and Bulloch, Candler, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb and Gwinnett) that were suing the Commission, the State Department of Education and State Board of Education, and two schools approved by the Commission – Ivy Preparatory Charter Academy in Norcross and the Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Technology in Statesboro. The districts’ claim that the law which created the Commission – HB881, enacted in 2008 – was unconstitutional was rejected.
In her ruling, Judge Shoob said: “The General Assembly has provided sufficient guidelines. Commission charter schools are not required to be under the control or managed by an elected board of education. The funding is constitutional.”
Georgia Charter Schools Association Chief Executive Officer Tony Roberts said: “Judge Shoob’s ruling is a victory for children and parents throughout Georgia. The plaintiff’s argument boiled down to them not liking the law, and that’s their right. But them not liking it does not make it unconstitutional. It’s a great day for the charter school movement and for everyone who is in favor of having quality public educational choice options for students and parents.”
Georgia House Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones (R-Milton), who helped craft HB 881, said: “Nothing I have worked on as a representative has brought more personal satisfaction to me than this legislation. It will lead to changed lives for today’s children and a brighter future for our state. Judge Shoob’s ruling fully validates the outstanding team effort that gave life to House Bill 881, including support from members on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate, Governor, state Department of Education, Georgia Charter Schools Association and others. Because they appreciated that one size doesn’t fit all in public education, students all over Georgia will have more opportunities to realize their dreams.”
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76 comments Add your comment
Right is Right...all the time
May 7th, 2010
2:10 pm
This victory confirms that schools like Ivy Preparatory Academy are doing the right thing, and the State approved, authorized entities that ensure these schools receive equitable funding are also doing the right thing. Plain and simple- the money should always follow the child!
Hummon
May 7th, 2010
2:24 pm
I’m all for this decision – if behemoth public school systems think the public in this day and age is going to continue tolerating one-size-fits-all education, they have another guess coming – but the bias in the news article about this decision is . . . well, considering the reporter it was to be expected. In my years as a GCPS teacher I saw a lot of subtle public school bashing in her choice of topics and the slant of her stories. This line in today’s story: “[The students] were not intimidated by the views of the adults.” A line like that, implying that the judge was thwarted in her sinister attempt to bully the valiant charter school students, belongs in a column, not a news story.
Bravo to those students, but I’d like to see reporters report on them, not be their cheerleaders.
Go write another puff piece about GAC, Aileen!
B. Killebrew
May 7th, 2010
2:28 pm
Hummon,
Right on. The slant of the article was so obvious. And pathetic.
renee
May 7th, 2010
2:35 pm
Well Mr. Potter (J Alvin)- what are you going to waste our money on next since you can’t get your hands on everything…
CharterStarter
May 7th, 2010
2:37 pm
Like proponents of HB881 and the Commission have been saying all along, Georgia’s law is clearly constitutional. It was never on a foundation of Jello. It was only discussed as if it were by biased individuals, including our scribe hosting this blog.
The trick will now be the appeals, which will happen, and which will waste even more local dollars that should follow students instead of lawyers. And the result will be (no matter how high it goes): the money follows the child, and Georgia’s law is solid.
With this ruling, charter schools are no longer required to sit in the back of the bus!
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
2:38 pm
renee, I suspect that the systems will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Maureen
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
2:40 pm
CharterStarter, My point is that until this lawsuit was resolved, the charter movement was on shaky ground. But I won’t dispute any other points in your comment. This was as clear a victory as anyone could want.
Next up apparently, the state Supreme Court.
Maureen
CharterStarter
May 7th, 2010
2:45 pm
I do see your point, Maureen. I think the movement has never been stronger myself. Sort of like when Blockbuster started renting DVDs on a few shelves not so long ago. Tried to rent a VHS tape lately?…
Attentive Parent
May 7th, 2010
3:26 pm
Maureen,
Do you know who is representing the school districts?
Are you familiar with the charters’ lawyer, Bruce Brown?
oldtimer
May 7th, 2010
3:48 pm
All schools and education will improve when parents have choice. I wish GAE etc would support parent choice.
more lawsuits
May 7th, 2010
3:52 pm
This is BS, meaning the judges ruling. It appears she had already made up her mind before the proceedings even concluded. Like mentioned before this will go be appealed over and over again. What looks like a victory today could prove to hurt all children in the long run. I am waiting for the lawsuit of parents who send their children to private school or persons without children at all say that their taxes should not be for public education. Their tax money should follow them; I want an “old folks” community center.
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
3:53 pm
It was Bruce Brown of McKenna, Long and Aldridge for the schools and Stefan Ritter of the AG’s office for the state. They both did a good job.
Maureen
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
3:54 pm
@more lawsuits, It was a quick ruling but apparently Judge Shoob relied a great deal on the legal briefs that were submitted to her. She clearly came to court well informed. (Not sure we needed nearly four hours of lawyers explaining their briefs since she appears to have studied them all in detail and knew her decision. As one of the attorneys said to me, “We could have saved our breath.”)
Maureen
Larry
May 7th, 2010
4:01 pm
M’lady, I owe you a drink.
Congratulations to the winners. Since I have clearly overstayed my welcome, you will no longer have to endure my remarks.
I wish you all the best in the world you have created. May things work out the way you have envisioned.
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Attentive Parent
May 7th, 2010
4:15 pm
I believe that’s the same Bruce Brown who has been representing Georgia for years in the various federal water wars cases involving Alabama, Florida, and Lake Lanier.
Do all the school districts have common counsel and who are they using?
Thanks.
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
4:38 pm
To Attentive parent, No, they had their own lawyers. I am not sure of the name of the Bulloch County attorney, but here are the names of three:
Mike Bowers: Gwinnett
Thomas Cox: DeKalb and APS
Buddy Welch: Henry
David S
May 7th, 2010
4:39 pm
Charter schools are still funded on a socialistic premise and are still constrained by government rules and regulations. True school choice demands an end to government involvement, not just dressing up a new type of government school and calling it wonderful.
Private school success is based on the direct involvement of parents via their wallets and their ability as consumers to make demands on “management” for the services they need. An enormous increase in those private options would empower every parent as no amount of sign waving, screaming, whining, or voting will ever do in relation to a government run monopoly.
Simple economics.
An advocate for public education change & choice
May 7th, 2010
4:39 pm
While the opposition appears to have been knocked down they are certainly not out. I agree with Maureen that this is simply round 1 and we except the districts aligned behind this suit to waste more public funds by fighting it tooth and nail though the GA Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, a notable victory.
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
4:47 pm
@Attentive Parent, The Bulloch lawyer is Gerald M. Edenfield out of Savannah
Attentive Parent
May 7th, 2010
5:08 pm
Appears to be high-powered, expensive, and experienced counsel all around.
Looks like no one wanted to lose this precedent.
d
May 7th, 2010
5:15 pm
Oldtimer — GAE is in support of public schools which includes charter. That being said, congrats to the charter schools. I never had a problem with their existence. As I’ve said multiple times on this topic, the only problem that I have (and still do) is the fact that the charter commission is not accountable to the voters and that an appointed board can overrule my elected BOE. Frankly, I had no problem with Ivy Prep here in Gwinnett County and I was quite upset when the GCPS BOE turned them down. I, as a voter, am looking forward to casting my vote against Dr. McClure, but I still am against the charter commission as an appointed board. Make them accountable to the voters (and while we’re at it, the state BOE as well!)
Mid-South Philosopher
May 7th, 2010
5:30 pm
Interesting…the “word” education is not mentioned once in the United States Constitution. Come to think of it, it is not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. It wasn’t until the 1840s that the notion of “free public schools” began to gain dominance in the psyche. Of course, come the 1950s and 60s the “babysitter syndrome” began to grow. Today, the rage is to neuter the free public school and “charter” and “voucher” the elite kids (with a few token minorities and economically disadvantaged, for public relations reasons) and let the “bubbas” and “brothers” be d*mned!
why charters?
May 7th, 2010
5:56 pm
There will continue to be charter schools as long as APS and other school systems continue to endorse policies which keep failing schools (schools that underperform academically or permit discipline problems to run rampant) in operation at the expense of children’s futures and parent choice. As long as APS restricts me from seeking the best school for my child’s needs, forcing me to place my child in an unsafe or academically poor environment, charter schools will continue to grow until the whole system is divided between schools thriving due to choice and schools surviving due to default.
Bebe
May 7th, 2010
6:00 pm
This ruling is so typical of what is going on in our country today – let’s penalize the majority to make sure we appease a few. The right to move your child out of a school that’s not performing is already in existence, so please don’t preach to me about choice. And with this ruling, charter schools will continue taking funding from already strapped public school systems. Gwinnett is the largest system in the state (with an enormous diversity) and is already seeing a reduction in State funding because the folks at the gold dome don’t want to acknowledge the shift in our county’s population and income. Thanks for screwing the white, middle class American yet again.
why charters?
May 7th, 2010
6:22 pm
@ Bebe:
Not preaching, just staing the facts. You are absolutely right that you have the choice to move your child to another school *IF* that school has failed AYP goals for three consecutive years but with cheating on the CRCT, a lot of failing schools have been givinga fake passing grade. If your school is not labled as failing, at least with APS, the school administration has final discretion over where you can move your child. That is a policy that restricts public school choice, to be clear and specific. Also, I do not have the right to withhold my +/- $3K in annual school taxes to apply towards procuring a private school education for my child, again, a legal restriction on school choice. Also, APS, in its sole discretion, determines which schools are even allowed to accept general transfer students except if your child currently attends a failing school, which are rarely labled as such. So to sum it up: APS decides whether a school is a failing school because APS administers the test and reports false results; APS determines the schools that can accept general transfers; APS approves or denises the transfer in their sole authority; I have no legal right to deny APS my tax payments. I agree with you, I do have a choice, but my choices are very limited under APS.
And before you say, “suck it up and send your kid to private school or home school” that is exactly what I am doing.
And it is not the white, middle class American that is screwed. It is every taxpaying American that is screwed, forced to pay for a product that delivers inferior results.
Cere
May 7th, 2010
6:23 pm
Whoa – pretty strong statement about Judge Shoob by Mike Bowers. He really doesn’t think that maybe – just maybe – HE could be wrong?
“”She’s just wrong,” said Mike Bowers, a former state attorney general who is representing Gwinnett County schools in the case.” . . .
“Minnesota passed the first charter school law in 1991, and now 39 states and Washington, D.C., allow the schools to be opened. Nationally, there are more than 1.5 million students in nearly 5,000 public charter schools.”
Dream on, Mike. Shoob has the full support of Obama and Duncan – charter schools are the future so we may as well look into ways to create good ones – and offer unlimited access.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/ga-school-districts-challenge-charter-school-law-93071584.html#ixzz0nHikDWI7
jconservative
May 7th, 2010
6:42 pm
Good for Judge Shoob.
And yes, I am sure the school systems will waste more money on this case. People are very reluctant to give up power.
ScienceTeacher671
May 7th, 2010
7:48 pm
Mid-South Philosopher, public schools aren’t mentioned in the United States Constitution, but Thomas Jefferson wrote extensively of his support for them. He felt they were important for giving citizens the skills needed for a participatory democratic republic, and also so that bright children who were not wealthy might have a chance of realizing their full potential.
Education IS mentioned prominently in the Georgia Constitution, and a free and adequate education for its citizens is said to be a “primary obligation” of the State. Unfortunately, the state hasn’t been doing a very good job lately.
Slay the beast
May 7th, 2010
8:50 pm
A dagger into the gut of the monolithic, dysfunctional beast that is the public schools. In other words, a good day.
Parentalso
May 7th, 2010
9:12 pm
I had the pleasure of listening to the argument on both side. I really thought that the planfiffs attorney were not prepared, or they just had poor arguments. I am not a lawyer, but I think I could have done a better job. Stefan Ritter (the state attorney general was like a pitbull, he tore a large hole in Mike Bowers and freinds case, and made these lawyers look like law clerks. I was embarrassed for the plantiffs. There arguments were based on emotions rather than facts. They should know better, but I guess they are being paid to represent their clients, and they need to keep those retainers coming (your tax dollars) so that they can appeal the case, and waste more of our money.
Just a Thought
May 7th, 2010
9:29 pm
As has been stated several times over, parental involvement is a strong indicator of student achievement and therefore successful schools. Kids with unstable home lives and uninvolved parents are going to suffer. You will have a system of have and have-nots that’s even more pronounced than it is today. My heart is for the kids who don’t have an advocate.
Charters attract the best teachers (I certainly understand why), the best resources, and the best parents. This will leave the public schools bankrupt in more ways than one.
The solution? LOCAL SCHOOL CONTROL. Any public school could function just like a charter if the principal and stakeholders were given the same latitude (and high expectations for results) as charters. This is what I don’t understand. Why not create the atmosphere where EVERY public school could be a charter? Why set up road blocks to that prevent ALL children from receiving a free and equal education (i.e. unnecessary laws and regulations)? Should kids suffer because of their dysfunctional parents who won’t seize the opportunity of a charter school?
One more thing. The charter school movement is still new. The earliest schools are just now graduating students into high school and some college. We still don’t know if this success is sustainable for the students outside of the highly structured charter school environment.
I am not totally against charters. I just feel that this is another way for the the state to side step the real issues in education and not engage in true reform that would benefit all students. Easier to let the “noisy” parents have choices than to make the hard decisions for a total overhaul of Georgia’s education system.
Heron Bay Parent
May 7th, 2010
9:38 pm
Does anyone know why Henry and Griffin-Spalding did not send lawyers? The last article I read did not mention Henry. Did they drop out of the lawsuit?
Maureen Downey
May 7th, 2010
9:46 pm
There was a Henry lawyer. I believe it was Buddy Welch. And there was a Spalding lawyer as well. There were five district lawyers there.
Parentfor charter
May 8th, 2010
12:25 am
Henry Lawyers was a joke, he looked an acted like someone on the high school debate team, and he way out of his league, just my thoughts, (call it like I see it). I am not sure why he was there anyway. The school in Henry is not even open yet. Personally I think Bowers should have gone at it alone. Even though his arguments were weak, the others guys made his case impossible.
Gwinnett Mom
May 8th, 2010
12:44 am
I have to admit I am skeptical of the charter school movement because I feel that at some level, the movement is premised on the idea that students with involved parents ought to be allowed to segregate themselves from their neighborhood schools. As I see it, if you take 100 students with parents involved enough to fill out tedious paperwork, odds are these kids would succeed anywhere, even in the neighborhood schools. And, concerning choice, NCLB mandates school choice for failing schools so I don’t really see that as an issue. We have a budget crisis right now so financially, raising class sizes for the 99% of kids that don’t go to charters seems like an ill thought out solution.
What’s really sad to me is that if we all just put in a little bit of an effort and demanded higher performance from our local schools (and not just threaten them with reduced funding) ALL children would be so much better. Look at what happened in Decatur!
stooper
May 8th, 2010
6:43 am
“We have a budget crisis right now so financially, raising class sizes for the 99% of kids that don’t go to charters seems like an ill thought out solution.”
Charters are not immune from the budget crisis. They receive their funding from the same sources as traditional public schools. Charters do have an advantage though. State Commission charters like Ivy Prep and CCAT don’t have the enormous number of district level administrators and non-teaching personnel that a traditional school system has. Even though austerity cuts mean fewer dollars are available, a streamlined operation means more of the dollars are spent in the classroom.
Heron Bay parent
May 8th, 2010
6:44 am
Thank you Maureen. In the above statement from the Georgia Charters School Association, it read, “Judge Shoob’s ruling came after listening to arguments from seven school districts (Atlanta City and Bulloch, Candler, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb and Gwinnett) that were suing the Commission, the State Department of Education and State Board of Education, and two schools approved by the Commission” I missed the part about Henry and Griffin-Spalding.
Agree with Gwinnett mom
May 8th, 2010
7:59 am
I agree with Gwinnett mom. What a horrible idea that parents who are actively involved in their child’s education and prepare their children to come to school ready to learn and behave appropriately should somehow be rewarded for that.
Parents who actively parent, and bring children to school ready to learn, should have to be made to have their children sit right next to the children of the most dysfunctional parents, who allow the most defiant behaviors their children engage in to be tolerated.
It’s only fair. There is no way that a child should benefit from having active, involved parents who truly value education. It’s discrimination.
What happens in Decatur, stays in Decatur
May 8th, 2010
8:03 am
What happened in Decatur Gwinnett mom, is that families like Maureen’s, with values like Maureen’s when it comes to education moved in.
May
May 8th, 2010
8:39 am
I was at a meeting recently held at a charter school. One parent asked the speaker the question, “How do we inspire the rest of our parents to get behind the school and really support everything?” It appears that a charter school, like any public school, private school, church, has the same small percent of volunteers that carry the load. The parent may want their child at the school and yes, that does take some commitment, but most do not do any more than the average parent out there. Please don’t think that all the charter parents are sitting down to help with homework every night, driving their student to school, staying to clean the cafeteria and then heading to the courthouse for a hearing. It’s just not true.
Attentive Parent
May 8th, 2010
8:52 am
Are these school systems afraid that this charter commission is establishing the idea that the public funding runs more with the student and can no longer be thought of as an asset of the district?
We know that some of the districts involved have very set ideas of what curricula and instructional methods must be used. APS has rigid mandates in the charter school contracts we have seen and Dekalb has contracted with America’s Choice.
Are they afraid that these Commission approved charters can get around these mandates?
Are these districts afraid that certain charters will be able to establish conclusively what are effective textbooks. curricula, and instruction in a way anyone paying attention cannot help but notice? That other schools will then want to replicate what are true “best practices” .
When the education oligarchy that makes lots of money of off inefficient practices starts bemoaning the “transmission curriculum” as being “counterproductive” to real learning, we know we are in a twilight zone where childrens’, parents, and employers’ aspirations for learning are being ignored.
Whatever is really going on is not just about Ivy Prep.
What this has always been about
May 8th, 2010
9:14 am
This is nothing more than dysfunctional school systems trying to hold on to their power. The ironic thing is that by establishing a STATE commission, the state has actually given back some LOCAL control to the voters, since the school systems were not willing to listen to them, the school systems were punished with a loss of power.
On of the FEW things the state has done right in education.
Jennifer
May 8th, 2010
9:35 am
“The moral arc of justice is long, but it bends towards justice.” MLK
Alpharetta Mommy
May 8th, 2010
11:09 am
Maybe if we all learned to tolerate diversity a little better (and no I am not just referring to race), we wouldn’t have such a big need for charters. Reading these comments, I get the feeling that many of you supporting charters just don’t want your kids around “dumber” classmates or classmates with parents that aren’t as involved. So, I actually think Gwinnett Mom has a point in that many kids that succeed in charters would also succeed in the local schools.
I live in North Fulton and I love sending my kids to a school that is diverse racially and economically (I realize this is not the perception but for my school zone it is reality) and I love that my kids can be around kids on all levels academically. I think it enhances their learning experience and honestly, I feel the reason the school is so successful is because parents accept this diversity. Unfortunately, it seems not everyone agrees.
Attentive Parent
May 8th, 2010
11:43 am
AM-
I do not know about the charters in N Fulton but I know Ridgeview Middle is about 1/3 each: white. black, and Hispanic with plenty of students commuting daily from past the airport.
Riverwood Intl Charter is also extraordinarily diverse with like 40 different primary languages and about 25 – 30% of its students leaving private schools after 8th grade to attend there.
You must be describing a particular charter that you find troubling but please do not “broadbrush” Georgia charters in general or Fulton in particular.
Alpharhetta Mommy is right
May 8th, 2010
11:56 am
It is so terrible that parents want to send their children to schools where the prevailing attitude is value for learning.
Why can’t parents be more tolerant of those parents who place no value in education? Why can’t parents be more tolerant of dysfunctional school systems like DeKalb?
Parents who highly value their child’s educational opportunities should be required to send their children to dysfunctional schools, populated by disruptive and out of control students that school system officials refuse to acknowledge exist.
It’s only fair that the parents who care are afforded the same opportunities as the parents who don’t care.
read4me
May 8th, 2010
12:11 pm
The NEA does not support charter schools, because in states where the NEA is a union and not a professional organization, the NEA has not gotten into those schools. Those schools have no unions. Contracts are made between the teacher and the organization and there is no middleman.
fred smith
May 8th, 2010
3:36 pm
The tiny little detail no one pays attention to is that CHARTER SCHOOLS MAKE NO, THAT IS NO, THAT IS ZERO, NADA, NIX DIFFERENCE in student learning. The research by now is excruciatingly clear. BUT, what is also clear is that there are empiricists, who pay attention to data, and “rationalists” who do not. Those who want charter schools do not care about whether it’s better for their kids or not, apparently. And by the way, that’s MY tax money, and I do NOT want you OR the state stealing it. I pay taxes to the county to run the public schools, NOT what amounts to your private school.
Go Alpharhetta mom!
May 8th, 2010
4:39 pm
How dare parents don’t want to send their children to experience the diversity of criminally dysfunctional schools. The have no tolerance.
We need more tolerance.