At Arizona charter schools, parents with complaints or objections find nowhere to turn
A lack of independent oversight leaves students and families without recourse to challenge charter school officials' actions.
Evan George had finished his classes for the day and was hanging out with friends at American Leadership Academy's Queen Creek campus, when two staff members approached and accused him of vaping.
Evan, 16, says he was doing a trick with his mouth that produces a plume of moist air that resembles vapor from an electronic cigarette.
His explanation didn't convince the charter school's staffers.
Evan was ordered to the administration office, where Athletic Director Rich Edwards took him into a room and searched him, looking for a vape pen, which would have been a violation of school policy.
"He told me to take my pants down, and he put his fingers in my underwear," said Evan, who is a junior. "I felt scared."
The search didn't turn up a vaping device, according to records the school provided to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.
ALA still suspended Evan from school for eight days.
His parents, Chris and Kimberlie George, said both the Dec. 11 search and the suspension were wrong.
The athletic director inappropriately touched their son, they said. And the school suspended Evan without proof he'd had been vaping, even though their son's only prior disciplinary issues were for wearing torn jeans and chewing gum, they said.
But when the Georges sought an independent review of Evan's suspension, they found they had nowhere to turn.
Arizona's charter schools are primarily run by private companies. They must have a governing board, but school owners get to pick who's on the board, so many are stocked with relatives, friends and even the charter's owner. In some instances, boards have just one member — the charter operator.
American Leadership Academy Queen Creek student says he was strip searched over vape trick
16-year-old Evan George says he was strip searched in December 2018 after performing a trick that made it appear vapor was coming from his mouth.
THOMAS HAWTHORNE, THE REPUBLIC | AZCENTRAL.COM
Beyond the school, parents can only turn to the state Charter Board. And regulators there, because of limited resources and limited authority, rarely investigate such complaints against schools, an Arizona Republicinvestigation shows.
The result is a lack of independent oversight that leaves students and families at some charter schools, in disagreements big and small, with no recourse to challenge school officials' actions — even if they think those moves inhibit their students' academic progress or personal safety.
ALA Queen Creek officials denied the Georges' request for an appeal hearing before ALA's Board of Directors, which is composed of friends of ALA founder Glenn Way.
"Evan was never afforded due process," Chris George said. "He wasn't able to speak to his accusers, and the dismissal hearing was a farce. There was no interest in what the truth was."
The family escalated their complaint to the state Charter Board. But after ALA provided regulators with written CONTINUE READING: Arizona charter schools: Parents with complaints find nowhere to turn