The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has released the following statement commending the ruling by Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal, which upholds the State Board of Educations constitutional authority to review appeals when charter school applications are rejected by local school boards:
“There are many reasons a charter school can be denied their application at the local level reasons ranging from legitimate concerns to political interests that benefit adults, not students. We are pleased that Florida has upheld the constitutionality of the pathway which allows charter schools that have been denied their application to appeal to the State Board of Education. It is imperative that Florida’s students, and all students, have access to high-quality public school options and that political interests don’t prevent these options. The State Board of Education will provide an expert and supervisory eye to such appeals processes, and ensure decisions are truly being made with the best interests of students in mind.
“In December 2014, the Palm Beach County School Board rejected an application to open South Palm Beach Charter School. The charter school operator appealed the school boards decision to Florida’s Charter School Appeal Commission, which unanimously recommended that the school boards denial be overturned. The Florida Board of Education agreed and overturned the Palm Beach County School Boards decision. The Palm Beach County School Board then filed suit challenging the Board of Educations ruling and its constitutional authority to overturn a local school board decision.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools together with the Florida Charter School Alliance, the Urban League of Greater Miami, the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, Associated Industries of Florida, and the Foundation for Excellence in Education filed an amicus brief in January 2016 in Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. The brief asked the court to affirm that the Florida Board of Education has the authority to review appeals when charter school applications are rejected by local school boards.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter SchoolsThe National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter movement. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.
