Tennessee approves Invictus charter school, overturns Nashville school board's denial

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted in favor of Invictus Nashville on Friday, overruling previous denials by the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education.

The nine-member board voted unanimously to approve the K-8 charter school that will bring another Montessori model to the McGavock neighborhood, after discussion and comments from commissioners.

Nashville Collegiate Prep High School, a college preparatory high school proposed for the Cane Ridge neighborhood, was up next for discussion. After an hourlong debate, the commissioners narrowly upheld the decision by the MNPS board to deny the school's application. The commission split in a 5-4 vote.

Both Invictus and Nashville Collegiate Prep received initial denials in April from the MNPS board, amended their applications and were denied again in July. Both schools then appealed to the state charter school commission.

From July: Nashville school board again denies three charter school applications

The commission was established in 2019 and took over the public charter school appeal process in 2021. It has the power to overturn denials by all public school districts in Tennessee. Previously, the commission approved 16 public charter schools, including nine in Nashville, six in Shelby County and one in Rutherford County.

Tess Stovall, the commission's executive director, said she was in favor of overturning the MNPS denials for both schools ahead of the Friday meeting.

How the state charter commission ruled on both schools

The MNPS board previously said Invictus failed to make the case for why the McGavock neighborhood needs a second Montessori, since another MNPS Montessori exists there. It also pointed to shortcomings in curriculum, testing plans, building codes, budget, transportation and funding.

However, the commission found Invictus met or exceeded all its requirements and would add a valuable choice supported by families in the area. One commissioner said it would expand the Montessori model to more Black and brown families, echoing Invictus leaders and parents in favor of the school.

In its Nashville Collegiate Prep denial, the MNPS board cited inadequacies in English learners instruction, attendance, academic, budget, transportation, construction and other plans. The denial also said its counterpart, Nashville Collegiate Middle School, falls short on state academic performance standards and is either similar to or below MNPS performance.

That performance, among other factors, was the subject of an hourlong discussion by state commissioners and what ultimately split the vote and led to them narrowly upholding the MNPS denial.

"This is a tough one, but we got to the bottom of it," Commission Chair Chris Richards said Friday.

State commission greenlights Hillsdale-affiliated charter school in Jackson

On Thursday, the state charter commission overturned the Jackson-Madison County School District’s denial of American Classical Academy. The academy is an affiliate of Hillsdale College, a Christian school in Michigan that sparked intense controversy amid its push to establish charter schools across Tennessee.

The school will be the second Hillsdale-affiliated charter in the state, joining another approved by the Rutherford County Board of Education earlier this year. However, the commission upheld a Maury County Public Schools denial of an ACA school on Thursday.

Meeting agendas, evaluation documents and more information on the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission can be found at tn.gov/tn-public-charter-school-commission.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee approves Invictus charter school after Nashville's denial