Georgia Charter Schools Association Applauds New National PTA Charter Policy:
Encourages Georgia PTA to Follow
Atlanta, GA , August 29, 2012 — Georgia Charter Schools Association President & CEO Tony Roberts today praised a recent policy change by National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) that supports alternate authorizers for public charter schools. The impact of the change in Georgia is unclear at this point, as the Georgia PTA chapter has opposed the November ballot that would re-establish the Georgia Charter Schools Commission as an alternate charter school authorizer.
“We applaud the recognition by National PTA that just as one size doesn’t fit all in educating our students, a single charter authorizer doesn’t fit all either,” Roberts said. “High-quality authorizers such as the Georgia Charter Schools Commission give parents and students a needed appeals process when a school board refuses to fairly consider a charter application. The entire charter community here in our state is asking Georgia PTA to follow their national organization and end their opposition to the November vote on the charter amendment.”
The rift between the National PTA and the Georgia PTA chapter was highlighted in an Education Week article written by reporter Sean Cavanagh.
In November, Georgians will be able to vote on a constitutional amendment that would re-establish the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. The Commission was created by a 2008 law and operated successfully until deemed unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2011.
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