The Atlanta Board of Education voted Tuesday night to deny an application for a charter school focused on students with special needs, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
In a unanimous vote, Tapestry Public Charter School’s appeal to replicate its model in Atlanta was rejected.
The school opened in DeKalb County in 2013.
Three main concerns were cited as reasons for denying the applications. First was the impact on enrollment at other Atlanta Public Schools, the second was staffing issues and the third was demographic concerns.
“While the petition presented many strengths, the district’s administration maintains concerns about the timing of this petition for the district, the negative impacts the school may have on APS operations, and the school’s ability to maintain demographic parity in light of its issues with doing so at its DeKalb location,” the recommendation read.
Atlanta Public Schools has not approved a charter school in over 10 years.
“Realistically a school with a maximum of 300 students over seven grade bands serving the entire APS district cannot — and will not — materially impact either global enrollment or the teacher shortage,” Tapestry said in a statement. The school would have eventually served grades 6-12, but had proposed starting with grades 6-10.
Nearly 700 Atlanta Public Schools parents signed a petition in favor of the charter school, with several of the parents in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We are disappointed by the decision of the Board but also saddened that Atlanta families have been denied the opportunity to experience the small inclusive, individualized, and innovative program that Tapestry has to offer,” the school said in a statement after the vote. “The Tapestry Board is committed to replicate Tapestry and we will take some time to determine our next steps.”