Tennessee Charter Commission Moves Closer to Approving Opportunity Public Charter School Expectations

Oct 8

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission’s School Performance and Accountability Committee voted Tuesday to approve the first reading of a proposed performance framework that will map out expectations for the Opportunity Public Charter Schools it oversees.

Lawmakers created Opportunity Public Charter Schools in 2024 to serve middle and high school students in grades six through twelve who face academic, behavioral, or socioeconomic barriers. To qualify, at least seventy-five percent of a school’s enrollment must consist of students defined as “at-risk.”

The Commission will be overseeing at least one Opportunity Public Charter school next fall when the Rock Academy opens in Nashville.

“These schools serve a very specific purpose,” said Commission Deputy Director of Authorizing Maggie Lund during Tuesday’s meeting. “We want to ensure the framework honors the innovation possible for serving at-risk students while maintaining alignment with state accountability systems.”

An “at-risk student” is defined as a student who has either dropped out of school without a diploma, is being adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent or detained in a juvenile facility or has been retained multiple times in elementary or middle school. Students who are behind in credits, chronically absent, pregnant or parenting, have a documented substance use disorder, or have experienced abuse or neglect would also qualify. Students must meet one or more criteria at the time of enrollment, even if their circumstances later change.

Lund emphasized that while Opportunity Public Charter Schools are designed for at-risk populations, they are still public charter schools subject to the same state requirements for school calendars, teacher licensure, safety, and serving special populations.

Unique Metrics of Accountability for Opportunity Charter Schools

Like all public schools, Opportunity Charter Schools will receive a School Letter Grade from the state, and the commission is considering a few tweaks in its performance framework to ensure the grade reflects the mission of these schools. Under School Letter Grades, all public schools receive an A through F grade based on student growth, achievement, and other factors like graduation rates.

Commissioners are considering increasing the weight of growth for Opportunity Public Charter School students and giving these schools the option of replacing the “lowest 25 percent growth” with the “time-in-model growth” of students.

Time-in-model is a metric of growth for students who have had continuous enrollment in an Opportunity Charter School, examining how the school is serving students over time. Schools will have the choice between Time-in-model growth or growth of the lowest 25 percent of students, whichever results in a higher score for the school.

“We are proposing a time-in-model analysis that asks, ‘Of the students who stay in the school, how are they progressing?’” Lund said. “This helps measure long-term growth for a highly mobile student population.”

The commission is also considering allowing Opportunity Public Charter Schools with graduating classes the option of including a college and career readiness measure that compares their graduates’ readiness rates with those in their resident districts in their grade. To qualify, students must meet or exceed an ACT composite score of 21 or a SAT score of 1060, increase their ACT score by at least four points from junior to senior year, earn a qualifying military or industry credential, or earn postsecondary credits.

Additionally, eachOpportunity Charter School will define a mission-specific goal within its charter agreement. These goals are designed to be measurable, rigorous, and consistent over time and will play a role in their School Letter Grade.

Serving a Vast Majority of At-Risk Students

The proposed performance framework commissioners are considering also introduces an enrollment requirement to ensure that each Opportunity Public Charter School maintains at least 75 percent at-risk enrollment. Schools that do not meet this threshold for three consecutive years will be required to amend their charter agreements.

Commission Member Christine Richardson raised concerns about the rigidity of the enrollment requirement, noting that a small shift in enrollment could affect a school’s charter status.

“The enrollment requirement seems very harsh, with a hard seventy-five percent,” Richardson said. “One or two student changes could impact the entire charter arrangement.”

Commissioner Tom Grisham added that the model could provide lessons for other charter schools in areas like chronic absenteeism.

With first-reading approval secured, Commission staff will now engage additional stakeholders for feedback and test the framework’s data thresholds to ensure fairness and reliability.

The final reading is expected at the Commission’s January 2026 meeting.

Commission Authorized Schools

Lund also provided updates on the 2025–26 school year, noting that all newly authorized schools are operating smoothly, including Invictus Nashville, Encompass Nashville, KIPP Antioch Global Elementary, LEAD Southeast Elementary, Nurses Middle College Nashville, and Empower Memphis College & Career Prep.

Additionally, nine of 16 commission-authorized charter schools received a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Level 5, the highest possible level of student growth for the 2024-25 academic year.