Local Control of Charter Schools is Over in Florida
After a February decision to overrule local school boards on charter school rejections, Florida State Board of Eduction Member Kathleen Shannon said that she “hoped” people were getting the impression that the Board was showing favoritism for charter school. And chance of that ended yesterday when Shannon’s Board overruled five districts in their rejection of charter schools. From Dave Weber in the Orlando Sentinel:
The Florida State Board of Education on Wednesday overruled the decisions of local school boards in deciding that five charter schools rejected by Central Florida districts should be allowed to open.
The decisions were a rebuff for officials in Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Polk and Brevard counties, who had said the charters, proposed to open in the fall, fell short of their standards.
During an appeals hearing in Tampa, the state board also sided with two charters in Broward