Georgia High Court Strikes Down Charter Schools Act

The Georgia Supreme Court Monday (May 16) reversed a 2008 act that allowed the state to create a new kind of charter school called a “commission charter.” The fate of schools that have already been created using the act, including Ivy Prepatory Academy in nearby Berkeley Lake, is now in question. A number of Duluth students attend Ivy Prep.

According to a Georgia Supreme Court statement, the courts voted 4-3 to strike down the 2008 Georgia Charter Schools Commission Act as unconstitutional. The ruling stated that these schools do not fit the definition of “special schools” as envisioned in the state Constitution.

Seth Coleman, spokesperson for the Georgia Charter Schools Association, said that the ruling does not spell out what the commission charters should do, so he anticipates the state attorney general getting involved in the case. "Right now we just don't know what will happen with Ivy Prep," said Coleman. 

He said that Nina Gilbert, head of Ivy Preparatory Academy, will be holding a rally at the school tonight at 5 p.m. 

The case was brought to the state’s highest court by seven local school districts, including Gwinnett County Public Schools, which sued former state superintendent Kathy Cox, the Department of Education, the Charter Schools Commission and three charter schools approved by the commission, according to the ruling. 

There are four charter schools operating within Gwinnett County. Three are
Gwinnett County Board of Education-approved: The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Maxwell High School of Technology, and New Life Academy of Excellence. Ivy Prep is the only one that was not approved by the Gwinnett BOE, according to Jorge Quintana, director of media relations for Gwinnett County Public Schools.

After the count ruling, Gwinnett County Public Schools Supt./CEO J. Alvin Wilbanks issued the following statement:
"We are pleased with the court's decision. While some tried to paint this lawsuit as an anti-charter school case, nothing could be further from the truth. At its heart, this was a constitutional question, one that has been answered once and for all. The Supreme Court has ruled correctly that the (Charter Schools) Commission does not have the constitutional authority to establish schools and direct local dollars to the operation of those commission-approved schools. Again, the Gwinnett County Board of Education's participation in this lawsuit was not a stand against the creation of charter schools, but rather against the establishment of a state commission that sought to usurp the jurisdiction and resources of a duly elected local board of education."

DeKalb County, Bulloch and Candler County, Griffin-Spalding County and Henry County and the Atlanta Independent school systems were also involved.  

The State Supreme Court ruled: “The Act is unconstitutional because it violates the 'special schools' provision in the Georgia Constitution of 1983.” The ruling stated that the Act went against a fundamental principle of public education, exclusive local control.

The ruling went on to say that “the constitutional history of Georgia could not be more clear that, as to general K-12 public education, local boards of education have the exclusive authority to fulfill one of the ‘primary obligation[s] of the State of Georgia." 

Since the 2008 Georgia Charter Schools Commission Act went into effect, there were three types of charter schools in Georgia: The “startup” charter, which is locally approved, “state chartered special schools” and “commission approved charter schools.” It is the last type of school that is affected by the court’s ruling.