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Cooper allows Innovative School District changes to become law, but calls program 'ineffective'

Gov. Roy Cooper allowed changes to the state's Innovative School District to become law at midnight Monday without his signature but told state education leaders that he is opposed to the controversial program.

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By
Kelly Hinchcliffe
, WRAL education reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper allowed changes to the state's Innovative School District to become law at midnight Monday without his signature but told state education leaders that he is opposed to the controversial program.

The ISD, formerly known as the Achievement School District, was created in 2016 with the goal of taking five struggling schools from across the state and handing them over to charter school operators in an effort to improve their academic performance.

Since then, only one school has been placed in the ISD – Southside-Ashpole Elementary School in Robeson County. The school has shown little change since being taken over by the ISD a year ago, earning an F grade overall in 2018-19 and not meeting academic growth expectations. Other North Carolina public schools considered for the ISD have fought the state's takeover, preferring to stay under the control of their local school districts.
Under Senate Bill 522, which has become law, schools will now be chosen for the ISD based on a multi-year phase-in process. Last week, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released a list of 69 schools that qualify for consideration based on their poor academic performance.

In a letter to State Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis last week, Cooper reiterated his opposition to the ISD program and asked that the board prioritize in its short session budget request "the supports needed to help North Carolina's lowest performing schools improve."

"Turning over control of a public school to a private charter school operator is both bad policy and ineffective, and I am fundamentally opposed to the ISD concept," Cooper wrote. "Senate Bill 522 does make some positive improvements to the ISD, including providing a way for low-performing schools to improve before being subject to take over."

Under the new law, in year one, struggling schools would be placed on a qualifying list, and the local school board and superintendent would be notified. If the school still qualified in year two, it would be put on a watch list. Following that, the local school board would hold a public hearing with parents and employees to explain the impact of being put on the watch list and improvement plans for the school.

If the school still qualified in year three, it would be put on a warning list. Another public hearing would be held, and the school board would have to present to the county commissioners about the school’s status. If the school still qualified after the third year and was one of the lowest five qualifying schools in the state, it would be selected by the State Board of Education to join the ISD.

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