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Legislature May Vote Today on Charter Schools; CSD Opposes The Bill

The legislation would allow a state commission to approve charter schools opposed by local school boards.

A bill opposed by the City Schools of Decatur and many other local school boards is expected to come up for a vote Thursday in the Georgia General Assembly, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

As the AJC sums it up,

The amendment would effectively override last year's Georgia's Supreme Court ruling by reinstating the state's authority to create and fund charter schools over the objections of local school boards.

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

It also would affirm that state and local governments both have a role in public education -- something that amendment proponents say was called into question by the court ruling.

Decatur has a charter school system, giving it greater flexibility to start new instructional programs.

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

The Decatur schools administration posted some things on the school system website asking residents to contact their legislators and urge them to vote against the bill.Β 

One headline reads: "Damaging Legislation on Horizon: Public School Funding/Voter Rights in Crisis."

, most of the legislators representing Decatur said they did not favor the bill because it was "taxation without representation."

The court ruling threw supporters of into a tizzy last year. They'd gotten a charter from a state commission that was negated by the ruling, so they had to go back to the DeKalb School Board.

and will move into the old Forrest Hills Elementary next school year.


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