The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve Rocketship Public Schools’ expansion into Rutherford County, overturning the local school board’s previous denial. The decision clears the way for the county’s fourth charter school, which will open next August and serve students in La Vergne and Smyrna.

Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and state lawmaker Monty Fritts was the only legislator to oppose continuing the Tennessee Department of Education during this week’s sunset hearings at the State Capitol.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission advanced a proposed framework Tuesday outlining how it will evaluate Opportunity Public Charter Schools serving at-risk middle and high school students across the state.

New data compiled by the Tennessee Charter School Center and SCORE found economically disadvantaged students at Rocketship Dream Community Prep scored in the top 7 percent in the state for both math and English language arts (ELA) proficiency.

The Rutherford County School Board narrowly voted down Rocketship’s application to open a new public charter school last July, and the operator appealed that decision to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, hoping to overturn it.

Memphis-based community members, including parents and retired educators, spoke out in support of a proposed public charter school they hope will help bandage a school district they say has “failed thousands.”

If the Jackson Museum School’s appeal is granted next month, the school would open with an initial class of 160 students in kindergarten through second grade.

Commissioners unanimously voted to reverse the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s June decision denying The Rock Academy’s application and upheld the board’s denial of The Forge School on a split 5-3 vote.

Students at The Forge School will begin working on career certifications as early as the sixth grade, and their academic journey will include job shadowing and internships with school partners to help prepare for a career immediately after high school or college.

If approved by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, The Rock Academy would open in 2026 with an initial class of 88 freshmen and then add a grade each year.

Rocketship Executive Director Eric Dailey tells the Tennessee Firefly that his organization is only planning to appeal the narrow 4-3 decision in Rutherford County to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

The Hamilton County School Board voted unanimously to reject the amended application for the proposed Tennessee Wildflower Public School, citing unresolved deficiencies despite revisions.

The Jackson Museum School would utilize a “museum model” similar to schools in Atlanta and Chattanooga, which infuses subjects like science and math into weekly expeditions to local cultural centers.

Attorneys for American Classical Education notified the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission last month that the charter operator had made the “difficult decision” to terminate its agreement signed in March.

In years past, district leaders in Nashville have given staff more time to review the sometimes-expansive applications by scheduling charter decisions in the July school board meeting.

All three applicants have the ability to appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission that has overturned at least one MNPS charter denial four years in a row.

The board unexpectedly decided late last week to hold votes on amended applications from the Rock Academy, the Forge School, and Rocketship Public Schools at Tuesday night’s meeting.

State Representatives John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, both serve districts where multiple public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools nearby.  Still both lawmakers openly questioned the performance of those schools during debate over new charter legislation Monday morning in the House Government Operations Committee.

Legislation that supporters say will help ensure public charter schools are approved timely and without political bias advanced from the House Education Committee Tuesday, but not without multiple misleading statements by Knoxville-based opponents.

The Governor Bill Lee backed legislation would allow charter applicants the ability to apply directly to the charter commission if they want to open a school in a district that has had three charter denials overturned in three straight years.