I invite the careful scrutiny of the General Assembly and of our citizens. And I will be working hard for its passage this year. The governor detailed his proposal during an announcement in his Capitol office, where he was joined by Education Commissioner Jane Walters and Sens. Ben Atchley and Jeff Miller and Reps. Steve McDaniel and Beth Halteman Harwell, sponsors of the bill.
Charter schools are public schools that are exempt from state and local laws, rules and regulations.
The governor's bill would allow any person, group, college, university or other organization to file an application for a charter school. The legislation calls for local boards of education to issue the charters, though rejections may be appealed to and overruled by the state Board of Education. Because they are public schools, charter schools would be funded by the local board of education in the same way as other public schools in the district. The legislation would allow the creation of 24 charter schools with no more than eight schools in any Grand Division. Shelby and Davidson counties would be allowed no more than four schools a piece, and Knox and Hamilton counties would be allowed no more than three schools each.