What the state says went wrong at Memphis Scholars’ charter schools
Student enrollment at three Memphis charter schools became too low to generate enough funds to sustain operations, according to findings from Tennessee’s Achievement School District.
But the Memphis Scholars network was also failing to meet other financial, governance and academic requirements, the state-run district found. That included neglecting to provide special-education services to students at two of its schools for three months this year, a violation of state and federal law.
The spate of findings amounted to “serious noncompliance and material violations of the charter agreement” that could lead to revocation, an ASD official wrote in a June 14 notice to the charter operator.
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Achievement School District Tennessee Department of Education Memphis-Shelby County Schools Charter schools Subscriber Only2025 is almost over. Now is the time to support your trusted local news source.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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