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Committee advances bill to recognize 'dropout recovery charter schools' with alternate accountability
Summary
Senator Steele and witnesses described SB369 (LC 492635), which would define and separately report on dropout recovery charter schools, adjust accountability measures for credit recovery and graduation pathways, and require State Board rulemaking; committee moved the measure forward by voice/hand vote on the record.
Senator Steele presented Senate Bill 369 (LC 492635) to the committee, describing a change from last year’s language: the bill renames ‘completion charter schools’ to ‘dropout recovery charter schools’ and establishes a separate definition and reporting stream for them.
Steele said the bill’s purpose is to bring more high-school students who have dropped out back into the education system with tailored goals — credit recovery, GPA improvement, FAFSA completion or acceptance into a two- or four-year college — and to measure success using metrics appropriate to those students’ circumstances rather than standard CCRPI measures.
Rob Fortson, an education attorney who has worked with Sky View High School, testified about the student populations these schools serve — often older students with limited credits and reading levels that require remediation — and said alternative accountability measures used in other Southeastern states better capture credit recovery and college- and career-readiness pathways for such students.
The principal of Sky View High School was identified in the transcript as Shelley Ledger and was present; later the transcript shows the principal’s name spelled as 'Shelly Lecker' in a subsequent turn. Several senators praised the school’s results and community backing. After brief discussion and a motion to call the question, the committee conducted a hands-raised vote; the transcript records approval language and congratulations from members but does not include a roll-call or numeric tally.
If enacted, SB369 would require rulemaking by the State Board of Education to allow a charter school to apply for local approval under the dropout-recovery designation and require the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to report separately on these schools’ performance. The transcript indicates the committee intends to advance SB369; committee staff or sponsors did not provide implementation timelines or detailed cost estimates during this session.
