Alabama charter commission renews three schools, adding conditions for one

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Public Charter School Commission renewed contracts Wednesday for three public charter schools – Magic City Acceptance Academy in Homewood, LEAD Academy in Montgomery and Breakthrough Charter School in Perry County – after hearing each school’s presentation on performance and future plans.

While all three renewals passed, commissioners spent the most time discussing the renewal of Magic City Acceptance Academy, which earlier this year was found out of compliance with Alabama’s “divisive concepts” law, – legislation that took effect Oct. 1, 2024 and prohibits public schools from directing or compelling “a student, employee, or contractor to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to a divisive concept.”

The Homewood school opened in 2021 as one of the nation’s few LGBTQ-affirming public charter schools. It has a mission to provide a safe learning environment for students who had faced bullying or exclusion in traditional settings. That distinction drew national attention, and supporters say it filled a gap for students who didn’t feel accepted elsewhere.

After a compliance review earlier this year, the commission sent a letter in February outlining steps the school needed to take to meet the new law’s requirements. Karen Musgrove, the school’s CEO, said the school acted quickly on the commission’s concerns.

During Wednesday’s meeting, after a commissioner asked school officials to address “the monster in the room,” Musgrove outlined some the changes the school made.

“We’ve had rainbows in our building because we are affirming to all people,” Musgrove told commissioners. “At one point our mission included language affirming LGBTQ people. We are still affirming to all people, but we’ve taken that out.

“We are affirming to all people,” she said. “We are affirming to our Black students, we are affirming to our Hispanic students, we are affirming to our LGBTQ students, which are in every school in this state. So we have taken measures to not be divisive and to embrace all of the students that we have in front of us.”

Musgrove previously told the commission in a written reply that student and parent handbooks were also updated, and curricular materials were reviewed.

One compliance note, Musgrove wrote, addressed maps labeled “Gulf of Mexico,” which the commission said should be updated to “Gulf of America.”

Commission attorney Lane Knight told the board he was satisfied that MCAA had taken the necessary corrective actions.

Commissioner Sharon Porterfield initially moved to renew MCAA’s contract for three years, but Commissioner Charles Knight, who attended the meeting virtually, asked to amend the recommendation to a five-year term, saying a technical glitch prevented his earlier motion from being heard.

Commissioner Marla Green voted against the renewal. The remaining members approved the five-year contract, including a condition that the school remain in compliance with the state’s anti-DEI law.

The commission also renewed LEAD Academy’s contract for five years. LEAD, Montgomery’s first public start-up charter, opened in 2019 and previously received only a two-year renewal in 2023 after concerns over finances, but commissioners said those issues have since been resolved and academic performance of students has improved.

Data presented at Wednesday’s meeting indicated that LEAD’s students are performing as well as, or better than, peers in surrounding traditional schools.

Breakthrough Charter School, which opened in Perry County in 2021, received a three-year renewal instead of the usual five. The commission did not elaborate on why they recommended the shorter term, though members did share concerns about the timeliness of required reports during the meeting.

Charter schools are public schools – open to all students, tuition-free and subject to the same or more stringent state accountability systems as traditional districts. In exchange for flexibility over staffing and operations, they agree to meet performance goals set by their authorizer.

The state commission has authorized 14 charter schools, some of which have multiple campuses.

Local boards of education can also authorize charter schools within their districts. Of the 16 public school districts that have become charter authorizers, only two – Montgomery County and Elmore County – currently have charter schools operating in their districts under their authority.

Charters are typically approved for an initial five-year term and must seek renewal before their contracts expire. During renewal hearings, schools must demonstrate sound academics and finances as well as compliance with state and federal laws.

The next renewal cycle for commission-authorized charter schools begins in 2026.

Updated: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. to correctly state that Magic City Acceptance Academy was one of a few charter schools in the country to focus on LGBTQ students when it opened in 2021.

This story is from alabamadailynews.com.