By failing to properly follow state law, its own founding charter, and sponsoring the school district’s stated policy, a Central Florida high school had to deny about 40 students college credits they had worked a semester to earn.
What happened in Lake Wales Charter Schools isn’t evidence of any grand scheme by local administrators to deceive and it is only marginally “newsworthy” beyond the small city in Polk County.
This environment, CCDF argues, creates the opportunity for curriculum and other materials—that many parents would find objectionable and inappropriate for their children—to end up on public school shelves without their knowledge.
“This is typical of the matters being brought up” during months-long audits being conducted by the group into local school districts’ operations, CCDF-USA secretary Jimmy Nelson said on April 1.
The group filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests while looking into Lake Wales Charter Schools—seven schools operated under state charter school statutes with nearly 5,000 students.
Among the documents it received were email exchanges between Lake Wales and Polk County district officials regarding a “dual enrollment” program offered to high school pupils.
About 40 Lake Wales students had enrolled in a course offered by Wesleyan University, a private liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut.
Among the books available for students to read was “Fun Home,” a “tragicomic” graphic novel by Alison Bechdel that features graphic sex scenes inappropriate for minors, including high school students, parent groups nationwide argue.
