Defeated Senate Bill Won't Affect Mableton Charter School

An effort to require charter schools to follow the same discipline and firing procedures as public schools was killed in a Senate subcommittee Thursday morning.

If approved, the measure would have affected Imagine International Academy of Mableton, which held its open house Thursday night. According to the school's website, "Imagine IAM is a tuition-free charter school serving students from grades K - 8. Our academy welcomes families from all backgrounds and cultures in order to create a rich and diverse environment for our children to grow and learn to their greatest potential."

Despite bipartisan support – as well as the endorsement of a key Republican committee chairman – Senate Bill 207 was voted was voted down 3-2 by the Senate subcommittee on academic support.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta). The subcommittee is part of the Senate Education & Youth Committee, whose chairman, state Sen. Fran Millar (R-Atlanta), also supported the bill. Subcommittee chairman state Sen. Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro) cast the decisive vote.

Fort’s measure would have required charter schools to comply with the same state law and personnel procedures as public school administrators. Instead, charter school principals will keep their authority to remove or suspend staff based on their own evaluations. 

The bill was supported by the Georgia Association of Educators. “We want to ensure there is some consistency in terms of personnel review in all schools,” said Marcus Downs, the association’s governmental relations director. “We do support this bill.”

But Andrew Lewis, executive vice president of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, said the bill would have crippled charter schools’ ability to make staff decisions they deem appropriate.

“Three words summarize what charter schools are all about: autonomy for results,” Lewis told the committee. “Not autonomy for autonomy’s sake, but for the fact that results are apt to be better if charter school administrators are free to take the actions they think are best for the school.''

Fort drafted the legislation in response to an incident in which a “highly regarded and respected” mathematics teacher was removed from her charter school post in a cost-cutting measure. “The school determined that her salary alone could pay for two positions, and thus she was terminated,” Fort said. “I am concerned these kinds of situations will continue.”