Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia received 12 out of 12 points on NACSA’s Index of Essential Practices, an annual assessment of charter school authorizer quality administered by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Of 161 authorizers assessed across the nation, the SCSC is one of two charter authorizers in Georgia and 31 charter school authorizers nationally to receive a perfect score.

“We must empower Georgia’s citizens with public school options and local flexibility if we want to continue to improve student achievement for future generations,” said Deal. “In recent years, the State Charter School Commission has expanded schooling options by establishing charter schools throughout the state. These schools are given greater flexibility in return for strong accountability for student academic success. The high-performing charter schools across Georgia provide an essential element of effective school choice and promote competition, innovation and strong parental involvement.”

NACSA focuses on the establishment of effective charter school policy and charter authorizing procedures that lead to quality public schools. In 2011, NACSA began publishing the Index, which outlines points of progress for authorizers in adopting 12 Essential Practices that are critical to fulfilling the responsibilities of an authorizer. NACSA pulls data for the Index from individual authorizer practices self-reported in response to NACSA’s annual survey of authorizers and recommends that authorizing staff and boards, charter schools and lawmakers use the results as a self-assessment tool and implement any missing practices.

“As a relatively new authorizer, the SCSC has worked quickly and diligently to ensure that we authorize quality charter schools that will give Georgia students the best possible chance for academic success,” said SCSC Chair Jennifer Rippner. “We are pleased to be recognized by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers for our practices.”