Gov. Bill Haslam says state officials are still deciding whether to appeal the court order keeping open a troubled online school, but he says it’s clear the privately-operated Tennessee Virtual Academy will get at least another year.
A Nashville judge ruled earlier this month that the Department of Education misapplied state law when it tried to shut down the statewide cyberschool at the end of this month.
Haslam says his administration isn’t ready to accept the decision. But it does mean it’s too late to close the school before the fall.
“One of the primary concerns is if we do appeal, it’s probably a year before that appeal gets answered one way or another.”
The Tennessee Virtual Academy has no physical classrooms; instead its 1,300 students learn via computer.
It’s operated by the for-profit company K12 Inc. in partnership with the Union County School District. Since opening in 2011, it’s ranked among the state’s lowest performers each year.
In 2013, state lawmakers gave the online school three school years to turn things around. Education officials wanted to shorten that window by counting the Tennessee Virtual Academy’s first two years in business, but Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled the clock couldn’t start running until the law was passed.
The ruling means the school can open again for the 2015-2016 school year. But it has to do better immediately, or it’ll likely face another attempt to close it.