Aspire surrenders benefit charter status under settlement terms
Aspire Charter Schools will surrender its statewide benefit charter status under terms of a settlement agreement reached today between the charter operator, the state board of education and the group of education advocates that brought the lawsuit.
Aspire will also be ineligible to seek statewide benefit charter status for five years and, along with SBE, will pay $300,000 – $150,000 each – in attorney’s fees and court costs.
“Today’s settlement is an important victory for parents and children across the state. It is important that all charters – whether locally approved or state approved – meet the standards established in the Education Code and comply with the law,” said Keith Bray, director of the Education Legal Alliance and general counsel of the California School Boards Association, the two groups who led the legal fight against Aspire. “As a public school option, statewide benefit charter schools must demonstrate, at the time of application, the same thoroughness and rigor expected of charter schools overseen by local educational agencies.”
The California Teachers Association, the Association of California School Administrators and Stockton Unified School
State board adds support for CORE’s NCLB waiver application
Despite concerns about the role California could be asked to play, state board of education members on Thursday elected to send a letter urging federal support of an application by a coalition of school districts for relief from the sanctions of the No Child Left Behind Act.