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State education superintendent announces Baldwin County’s stand‑alone CareerTech high school and waiver request
Summary
The state superintendent announced Baldwin County will open Baldwin Prep Academy, a full‑time CareerTech high school, and that the district has requested waivers under the Alabama Accountability Act flexibility provisions to waive certain state report‑card requirements for 2–3 years; federal reporting requirements remain in effect.
State Superintendent Doctor Mackey announced June 13 that Baldwin County plans to open a stand‑alone CareerTech high school, Baldwin Prep Academy, this fall and has requested waivers under the Alabama Accountability Act flexibility provision to suspend certain state report‑card requirements for a two‑ to three‑year period.
Mackey said Baldwin Prep Academy (BPA) will be a full‑time CareerTech high school where enrolled students attend that campus for all classes rather than taking career‑tech courses at a separate center and transferring credits back to a home high school. He said the district has pre‑registered several hundred students and is seeking waivers of state reporting provisions imposed by the Alabama legislature; he emphasized the district has not asked for any waivers of federal reporting requirements.
‘‘They are asking to waive certain provisions of their state report card. I want to be very clear about that. They are not asking nor could they receive any federal waivers,’’ Mackey said. He added the department is working with Baldwin County staff on waiver details and that the waiver process does not require board approval but does require a public announcement to be entered into the minutes.
Mackey said Baldwin does not plan to open with on‑site sports facilities, and noted longstanding high school athletic association rules permit students at schools that do not offer sports to play for their home high school. He also said several other districts have asked about similar stand‑alone CareerTech high schools and that the department expects additional waiver requests if those districts move forward.
The department said it will continue working with Baldwin County to finalize waiver language and expects the school to open this fall. The board did not vote to approve the waiver in this session; Mackey made a public announcement to document the request and process in the board minutes.
