Commissioners unanimously voted to reverse the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s June decision denying The Rock Academy’s application and upheld the board’s denial of The Forge School on a split 5-3 vote.

Students at The Forge School will begin working on career certifications as early as the sixth grade, and their academic journey will include job shadowing and internships with school partners to help prepare for a career immediately after high school or college.

If approved by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, The Rock Academy would open in 2026 with an initial class of 88 freshmen and then add a grade each year.

Rocketship Executive Director Eric Dailey tells the Tennessee Firefly that his organization is only planning to appeal the narrow 4-3 decision in Rutherford County to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

The Hamilton County School Board voted unanimously to reject the amended application for the proposed Tennessee Wildflower Public School, citing unresolved deficiencies despite revisions.

The Jackson Museum School would utilize a “museum model” similar to schools in Atlanta and Chattanooga, which infuses subjects like science and math into weekly expeditions to local cultural centers.

Attorneys for American Classical Education notified the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission last month that the charter operator had made the “difficult decision” to terminate its agreement signed in March.

In years past, district leaders in Nashville have given staff more time to review the sometimes-expansive applications by scheduling charter decisions in the July school board meeting.

All three applicants have the ability to appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission that has overturned at least one MNPS charter denial four years in a row.

The board unexpectedly decided late last week to hold votes on amended applications from the Rock Academy, the Forge School, and Rocketship Public Schools at Tuesday night’s meeting.

State Representatives John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, both serve districts where multiple public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools nearby.  Still both lawmakers openly questioned the performance of those schools during debate over new charter legislation Monday morning in the House Government Operations Committee.

Legislation that supporters say will help ensure public charter schools are approved timely and without political bias advanced from the House Education Committee Tuesday, but not without multiple misleading statements by Knoxville-based opponents.

The Governor Bill Lee backed legislation would allow charter applicants the ability to apply directly to the charter commission if they want to open a school in a district that has had three charter denials overturned in three straight years.

Senator Adam Lowe’s legislation would allow charter applicants the ability to apply directly to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission if they want to open a school in a district that has had three charter denials overturned in three years.

Governor Lee’ is legislation would allow public charter school applicants the ability to apply directly to a state commission in communities with a history of denying charter schools that were later overturned.

The Tennessee State Board of Education released evaluations this month for how well three local education agencies are overseeing public charter schools. Five overturned decisions contributed to Metro Nashville Public Schools earning just a “satisfactory” score.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted Friday to renew the ten-year charter agreements for LEAD Neely’s Bend, Libertas School of Memphis, and Cornerstone Prep Denver.

Since opening its doors nearly a decade ago, Libertas School of Memphis has gained support from local community members in the Frayser area for showing a “strong trajectory of student growth” and tackling chronic absenteeism.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission has approved changes to a charter agreement with Empower Memphis Career and College Prep Charter Schools that would allow the operator to open a new school in a different location next school year.  

Since opening its doors for the 2015-16 school year, LEAD Neely’s Bend Middle School has garnered support from many parents in the Madison area who say the charter school’s approach to education has been beneficial for their children’s academic growth.