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Following Criticism, Ball State Tightens Charter School Rules

Daniel Hartwig
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwhartwig/3934905914

Ball State University – one of only a few charter school authorizers in the state – says it’s tightening requirements for prospective operators and saying no to more applications.

Ball State‘s charter schools have been watched closely since a report more than two years ago said many of them were continuing to receive sponsorships despite being outperformed by traditional public schools.

The university also received unwelcome national attention in 2012 when one of its schools, the Burris Laboratory School in Muncie, was sued in federal court by parents of a second-grade student who claimed to have been molested by other students in class.

Ball State Office of Charter Schools Executive Director Bob Marra says the process now requires charter operators to meet more academic requirements than in the past.

Ball State approved only one new charter school for the 2015-16 school year - Mays Community Academy in Rushville. Five other applicants were turned down.

The overall number of charter schools Ball State sponsors has dropped from 42 to 30. Two charter schools in Indianapolis - Fall Creek Academy and University Heights Prep - were not renewed by Ball State after this past school year, and both closed rather than seek another sponsor. Ball State also did not renew the Hammond Academy for Science and Technology.