Gov. Nathan Deal: I Will Protect State-Chartered Schools

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From Governor Nathan Deal

Deal: I will protect state-chartered schools

Governor offers second term education proposal to end local obstruction

After speaking today to students and educators at Clayton County’s Utopian Academy for the Arts, Gov. Nathan Deal announced that he’ll work in his second term to protect state-approved charter schools from obstruction by local officials, which temporarily delayed the opening of this school.

“The series of obstacles placed before Utopian are exactly why Georgians voted overwhelmingly for the charter school amendment, and I will work to advance legislation in my next term that will protect the will of the people, the spirit of our constitution and the hopes and dreams of determined parents who want the best for their children,” said Deal. “I envision this will become bipartisan legislation, and I’m happy to work with Democratic members from the Clayton delegation who share my concerns about protecting the rights of these schools and their students.

“No county in Georgia passed the charter school amendment with a higher margin than Clayton, yet even there, where there is a real hunger for choice for students trapped in failing schools, we face obstructionist red tape. We need to act before this happens to another school, to another community, to another set of children looking for a better education.”

In 2012, Deal championed the charter school amendment that would give parents another avenue to start a charter school if they were rejected by local school boards. The amendment passed the General Assembly and Georgia voters adopted by a 58 percent margin.

Despite Sen. Jason Carter statements that he supports charter schools, he voted against the amendment that gives parents more choice and more hope. If Carter’s vote had killed the amendment, there would be no Utopian Academy for the Arts to celebrate today.

Students at Utopian sang to the governor at the school this morning. “I invited the choir to sing at my second inaugural,” Deal said.