State School Board Gives Final Approval To New Charter Schools

The State Board of Education has given final approval to 23 charter schools to open this fall.

Last year, 63 applicants began the process of applying to start a charter school, with an eye toward opening this fall. Twenty-five made it to this final round.

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Credit Dave DeWitt / WUNC

Two schools didn’t clear this final hurdle. The State School Board voted to rescind the provisional charter for Cameron Creek Charter outside of Charlotte, because the Board determined that the school plagiarized its application. Another applicant, The Expedition School of Hillsborough, asked to have its charter deferred because it couldn’t locate a facility in time.

Among the charter schools that are on track to open this fall are the Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Academy in Chapel Hill and the Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh.

In its regular monthly meeting, the State School Board also outlined how third-graders who do not pass the end-of-grade reading test must either attend summer school or receive a special exemption to get promoted to the next grade.