10 years ago, S.C. invested ~$1 billion in taxpayer money (including $200+ million more this year) on an experimental public-school choice program – which formed 39 charter schools under the Public Charter School District.

This week, nine of those schools requested to leave the district + be regulated by Erskine College. Why?

Under the charter program, schools are allowed more academic freedom + innovative teaching styles than state-run public schools – but this divergence from traditional standards comes with strict required goals. The District is concerned these 9 schools are requesting private supervision because they may not be meeting their requirements.

After a state audit, 7 schools were found to be not meeting their goals, 5 were in breach of charter (which causes a risk of closing) + 2 were put on cautionary status. The District was initially concerned the schools were overstating attendance for more funding (no evidence of this was found), so most likely the schools’ students are just falling behind academically.

4 min read / The State