Deal cheers passage of charter school amendment

Gov. Nathan Deal applauded legislators for allowing Georgia voters to restore the state’s ability to charter schools. The question will appear on the ballot this November.
                                                                                                                
“The General Assembly has acted wisely and courageously to give Georgians the choice to implement true local control: parental choice. We must encourage innovation and the pursuit of excellence in our schools. Starting a state-chartered school is not done easily or without lots of hard work, but we need a system that allows for this option. State-chartered schools help students trapped in underperforming schools and aid communities that want to invest in new and imaginative ways of learning for their children. Approving this amendment will simply restore the process for creating state-charted schools that existed before the state Supreme Court struck down the state’s system for granting charters. There’s a great need in our state for protecting and promoting schools that have a strong record of student achievement.”