The State Board of Education turned down a charter school application from a group that wants to serve indigenous students in Robeson County.The Old Main STREAM Academy proposal for a charter school was rejected by the Charter School Advisory Board last month. The group was hoping to get a fast-track application approved by the State Board so it could open in 2020.
Instead, the board says it will have to wait. Board members did encourage the school to apply for a charter again next year, but disagreed about why they were turning it down. One member said it was because of the quality of the proposal, another said it was at least in part because of how the school planned to teach American history.
There was debate during the advisory board's decision over how the school planned to teach history from a Native Americans perspective. That came a month after the advisory board initially approved the application.
Instead, the board says it will have to wait. Board members did encourage the school to apply for a charter again next year, but disagreed about why they were turning it down. One member said it was because of the quality of the proposal, another said it was at least in part because of how the school planned to teach American history.