March 23--Chicago Public Schools on Wednesday sued the Illinois State Charter School Commission over the panel's reversal of the district's decision to close three privately operated charter schools.
In three lawsuits, each of which names one of the schools, the district asks a judge to rule the commission "acted beyond its statutory authority" in voting to keep the schools open, and to nullify the state panel's order.
CPS last year announced plans to close the three South Side charter schools -- Amandla Charter School, Shabazz International Charter School's Sizemore Academy and Bronzeville Lighthouse Charter School -- for failing to meet academic standards.
The commission, in granting appeals from the schools to stay open, found the district changed its performance standards for charters without giving the three schools time to meet the new benchmarks. The commission also said the district failed to provide proper due process for the schools and to adhere to agreements it had with the operators.
In the lawsuits, CPS argues that the state's charter schools law "does not grant the commission the power to charter and operate schools that the commission itself agrees do not provide an adequate education to students."
Hosanna Mahaley-Jones, the commission's executive director, declined to comment on the lawsuits, which were filed in the chancery division of Cook County Circuit Court.
District CEO Forrest Claypool, during comments at Wednesday's meeting of the Chicago Board of Education, called the commission's decisions "ill-informed and destructive."
"Charter schools make a basic promise: that they will give parents a high-quality option. If they don't deliver on that quality, they must be held accountable," Claypool said.
"Not only did the Illinois charter commission fail the children of Chicago by allowing these schools to continue to operate without holding them accountable, they grossly overstepped their authority," he said.
Illinois charter school law grants the state commission power to overrule local decisions on charters, though the commission doesn't frequently exercise that authority. CPS administrators say they want to change the law to curtail the commission's reach, while arguing in the lawsuits that the commission exceeded its existing authority.
