State commission overrules Metro on charter application

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission has approved a resolution to overturn the Metro Nashville Public School board's denial of Nashville Classical Charter's application to open a second school in West Nashville. Now, according to the state commission’s general counsel Ashley Thomas, MNPS has 30 days to decide if it will serve as the local education agency for the second Nashville Classical Charter School. If not, then the TPCSC will serve as the school's local education agency. 

The commission was created in 2019 and championed by Gov. Bill Lee, who — Chalkbeat Tennessee reports — “argued the state needed a single board focused solely on ensuring that high-quality charter schools can open and ineffective ones are closed.” At the beginning of 2021, the commission assumed the Tennessee State Board of Education’s responsibility to respond to charter school appeals, and in July it also assumed the state board’s authorization responsibilities. Today marks the commission’s first decision with both Nashville Classical II and another charter school in West Tennessee.