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The Public Education Commission is taking education secretary-designate Hanna Skandera to court over her decision to approve two charter school applications the commission had denied.
The move is unprecedented for the PEC, whose main purpose is to decide whether to approve and renew state-chartered schools. Last year, the PEC approved just one new charter out of nine applications.
Two of the rejected schools have since successfully appealed to Skandera, who overturned the PEC’s decision and said the schools could open in the fall.
The PEC responded this week by voting unanimously to take Skandera to court.
SKANDERA: She overturned PEC decisions
The two schools in question are Taos International School and New Mexico Connections Academy. Connections Academy has prompted controversy because it would be fully online, and the governing board would contract with a for-profit company for courses.
Mark Reynolds, attorney for the PEC, said the commission will file an appeal of administrative action in District Court.
State law allows Skandera to overturn the PEC if she finds its decisions are “arbitrary and capricious,” not supported by substantial evidence or otherwise not in compliance with the law. Reynolds said Skandera does not have blanket discretion to overturn the PEC.
Public Education Department spokesman Larry Behrens declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Online charter schools have been a hot topic during this legislative session. House and Senate leaders this week wrote to Attorney General Gary King, asking him to “investigate the legality” of online charters that contract with for-profit companies for curriculum.
Democratic leaders from the House and Senate asked the AG to investigate Connections Academy and the New Mexico Virtual Academy, which is chartered by the Farmington school board and contracts with the for-profit K-12 Inc. for its curriculum.
The Democratic leadership believes the schools violate state law, which prohibits charter governing boards from contracting with a for-profit entity “for the management of the charter school,” according to a news release.
The issue turns on whether K-12 Inc. and Connections Academy are managing the online schools, or just providing curriculum like any textbook provider. The companies face further scrutiny because they have given money to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation and his Chiefs for Change, of which Skandera is a member. The group promotes online learning and charters, among other reforms.
Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, has sponsored a bill that would prohibit charters from contracting with for-profit companies to administer a school’s educational program.
In response to the Democrats’ release, the New Mexico Virtual Academy released its own, saying K-12 Inc. does not manage the school. According to the release, the school is managed and overseen by its governing board, while K-12 Inc. is a vendor that “provides curriculum, technology and academic programs for the school’s teachers and students.”
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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