Schools

State's Supreme Court Asked to Reconsider Ruling

A recent decision struck down a portion of the state's charter school law. Ivy Preparatory School in Peachtree Corners was affected.

The Georgia Supreme Court has been asked to reconsider its recent ruling which struck down part of the state's charter school law according to a recent Associated Press report.

At the heart of the issue is whether the Georgia Charter Schools Commission has authority to approve charter schools over the objection of local school boards.

Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all-girls commissioned charter school located in Peachtree Corners, was one of the 16 commissioned charter schools affected by the decision.

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The state's highest court had ruled May 16 that the Georgia Charter Schools Commission did not have the authority to establish schools and direct local monies to fund commission-approved schools.

Gwinnett County Public Schools has contributed some $2 million to Ivy Preparatory Academy since it opened its doors in the fall of 2008 according to information provided by a spokesman with Gwinnett County Public Schools.

Find out what's happening in Norcrosswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Thursday the state's attorney general, Sam Olens, filed a request on behalf of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, though the court rarely grants such requests.

"We not hopeful, but we've got to try to do everything we can," said BJ Van Gundy, a Peachtree Corners resident who serves on the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. "The shame would be to require these 450 Ivy Prep students who have scored 97 percent on their CRCTs to go back to a school with CRCT scores of 60 - 70 percent."


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