Troubled alternative public charter school Charleston Advancement Academy (CAA) has been caught in a legal fight to hold onto its charter since January of this year, but the state administrative law court’s latest order may be the final nail in the school’s coffin.
Chief Administrative Law Judge Ralph King Anderson II on Sept. 26 ordered the school to “immediately cease and desist all operations as a public charter school …. CAA, its board and administration are prohibited from spending any further public money, whether state or federal, directly or indirectly except as required to comply with this order.”
Anderson also ordered CAA to assist in enrolling the school’s students elsewhere as soon as possible, and that failure to comply would result in CAA being held in contempt of court.
The school’s website today said it was closed “until further notice,” a hint that it appears to have one life line left in a separate case with the S.C. Supreme Court.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District’s (SCPCSD) board of trustees voted Jan. 19 to revoke CAA’s charter, citing deficient academic performance and questionable financial structure based on state law requirements. The school was to finish the 2022-23 school year and close effective July 1.
The school, however, appealed the district’s decision in two ways – administratively to Anderson’s court and via a separate lawsuit. The state Court of Appeals on June 30 granted a stay to the school, allowing it to remain open while the revocation was under scrutiny. The stay was lifted Aug. 31 at the request of the district and state Department of Education, which then ordered the school to close immediately. The school, however, continued to operate without a valid charter until Anderson’s Sept. 26 order.
- Previous coverage, 9/15: Alternative charter school CAA open, but ‘operating illegally,’ documents say
The S.C. Court of Appeals on Aug. 31 dismissed the separate lawsuit, ruling against CAA. The school then petitioned for a rehearing, which was denied on Sept. 7. The school’s final route to hold onto its charter, which would allow it to reopen to students: the state Supreme Court. It received the school’s petition for a writ of certiorari on Sept. 26 and assigned the case a number.
“I continue to be befuddled by the actions of the [SCPCSD] board and personnel in this matter,” CAA director Gary Burgess wrote in a Sept. 26 email to SCPCSD Superintendent Chris Neeley. “I am a person of faith, and I do believe that when you hurt people because you sit in a place of authority (sic) at some point you will be held to account.”
Burgess also sent the email to all CAA personnel.
As of today, it is unknown whether students will be able to transfer course credits or test scores achieved after the school’s charter was revoked. As of Sept. 26, there were 196 students enrolled in CAA with another 25 wanting to enroll, according to a Sept. 26 email sent to Neeley and Anderson by CAA assistant director Carrie Tucker. At least 100 courses were completed by students since June 30, she wrote, and 109 students are more than 50% through current courses. Five students have met graduation requirements since June 30.
CAA operated as an alternative charter high school targeted at-risk students who had difficulty finding success at traditional schools.The average age of students enrolled in CAA was over 18, making it difficult for students to transfer back to home schools in their district.
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