Morgan Rallies Against Supreme Court's Charter Schools Commission Decision

State Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) is speaking at a Georgia Charter Schools Association rally today on the steps of the Capitol. The rally is designed to show disapproval of a Monday ruling from the Supreme Court of Georgia, which struck down the act that created state commissioned charter schools, ruling the commission unconstitutional.

The Georgia Charter School Commission, which Morgan helped create in 2008, was approving and funding charter schools that had been denied by the boards of education of local school districts. The court was expected to hand down a decision on March 30, but delayed it.

“That a court decision could close their school is unimaginable. This could rip them away from their school simply because these few local school districts want to be the final voice on school choice,”

This move will affect thousands of children in the state, but not those at

IIAM is a public charter school serving close to 600 students (K-8) in the Cobb County School District. While IIAM was not affected, disappointed school officials pledged that all charter schools will press forward.

“Some districts do not support charter schools and we saw the commission as an impartial body,'' said Board Chair Cheryl Wilson. "This is a setback, but we will continue to fight for school choice.’’

Two months ago, an effort to require charter schools to follow the same discipline and firing procedures as public schools was killed in a Georgia Senate subcommittee. If approved, the measure would have affected IAS.

In Monday’s case, seven local school districts -- Gwinnett, Bulloch, Candler, DeKalb, Atlanta, Griffin-Spalding and Henry -- sued former state Superintendent Kathy Cox, the Department of Education, the Charter Schools Commission, and three charter schools approved by the commission. 

In May 2010, a trial court ruled in favor of the charter schools and today's opinion reverses that decision.

"Because our constitution embodies the fundamental principle of exclusive local control of general primary and secondary (K-12) public education, and the Act clearly and palpably violates ... by authorizing a state commission to establish competing state-created general K-12 schools under the guise of being "special schools," we reverse," the Supreme Court of Georgia opinion states.

Justice David Nahmias cast the dissenting opinion, calling the majority's reasoning, "Illogical," and its conclusion "overbroad."