Georgia Ruling Leaves Charters' Fate Uncertain

Joe Worley, 9, front and center, joins fellow students from Pataula Charter Academy in Edison, Ga., in protesting the state supreme court's charter-panel ruling.

—John Amis/AP

Scrapping of state panel sends backers of schools scrambling for options

By Erik W. Robelen

With a 4-3 ruling last week from its supreme court, Georgia has become the second state in which a state-level commission created explicitly to approve and oversee charter schools has been struck down by legal action.

The development leaves in limbo for the moment the educational fate of some 2,500 students enrolled in a set of eight charters the Georgia commission oversees, though efforts were under way by the local schools and their backers to find a way to stay open. As of late last week, the schools were still operating.

The ruling seems to fly in the face of national momentum to form such state chartering bodies, which many charter advocates argue can both lift roadblocks to opening more of the independent public schools and bring stronger oversight...