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Loss of Accreditation

On August 28, 2008 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) revoked accreditation for the Clayton County School District. Clayton County Public Schools is the first entire district to lose accreditation since 1969.

Timeline of Revocation

• October 2007: Members of the Clayton County Board of Education file complaints with SACS against other board members alleging misconduct.
• November 12, 2007: The SACS Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI) sends a letter to Clayton County Schools requesting a formal response to the allegations.
• December 12, 2007: Clayton County Schools respond in a letter which did not dispute the complaints.
• December 12, 2007 through January 16, 2008: SACS CASI conduct a review of all available documents regarding the issue. During this period, additional complaints lodged by school staff, board members, and the community are received by SACS CASI. A consideration of each new complaint is included in the investigation.
• January 16-17, 2008: SACS CSI conducts an investigation in Clayton County, including interviews with the Schools Superintendent, each member of the Board of Education, and community members. The on-site investigation includes visits to several county schools.
• February 22, 2008: Governor Sonny Perdue appoints James Bostic and William Bryant, State Board of Education members, to serve as liaisons between Clayton County and the state.
• March 15, 2008: The national Accreditation Commission votes to uphold SACS' recommendation of accreditation revocation.
• April 2, 2008: Clayton County School Board chairwoman Ericka Davis resigns.
• July 31, 2008: Clayton County School Board submits more than 2300 pages of documents to SACS for review.
• August 27, 2008: A state administrative judge recommends the removal of four board members after hearing testimony from five Clayton County residents regarding their concerns these board members.
• August 28, 2008: SACS revokes Clayton County's accreditation. The same afternoon, Governor Perdue signed an executive order removing from the board:
  1. Michelle Strong
  2. Lois Baines-Hunter
  3. Yolanda Everett
  4. Sandra Scott

Current Board Members

As of October 10, 2008, the members of the Clayton County Board of Education are:

• District 1 - Vacant
• District 2 - Lindsey McDaniel
• District 3 - Jessie Goree
• District 4 - Michael King
• District 5 - Trena Morris
• District 6 - Mary Baker
• District 7 - Trinia Garrett
• District 8 - Alieka Anderson
• District 9 - Vacant

Consequences of Accreditation Loss

Students

Students graduating from Clayton County Schools may face difficulties being accepted into colleges and universities. Institutions of higher learning, especially those outside the University System of Georgia, may view students holding diplomas from a nonaccredited school system to be of substandard caliber. Notably, however, the state of Florida will consider graduates of Clayton County schools for admission into the state's university system Additionally, students from Clayton County may have a more difficult time obtaining academic scholarships to universities than they would were they to have graduated from an accredited system.

Current students in the Clayton County system will retain their HOPE scholarship eligibility until June 30, 2010, according to a bill signed by Governor Perdue allowing students from nonaccredited school systems to keep their HOPE eligibility should their system lose accreditation while they are currently enrolled as juniors or seniors in the system.

Without accreditation, Clayton County loses any state funding for pre-kindergarten programs. The direct impact of this loss of funding is that children are less well-equipped to begin their educations. Other consequences of this loss of funding may include decreased availability of childcare throughout the county and a drain on county child and family services.

Teachers

Teachers in the Clayton County school system may decide to move to other area systems or to leave the state. Generally, teachers who do so lose retirement and other benefits, impacting their quality of life. Additionally, in a nonaccredited environment, the state of Georiga will not count any school-sponsored professional development toward teachers' recertification.

Most Clayton County teachers seem to have remained for the time being, however, preferring to weather the accreditation crisis rather than leaving the system.

Community

Over 2,000 of the 50,000 students enrolled in 2007-2008 in Clayton County schools failed to return to the system for the 2008-2009 school year. Their families have moved to surrounding counties or to other parts of the state. This migration of students and families from the community is resulting in lower property values in Clayton County and is increasing enrollment in surrounding school systems to unexpected levels, causing a drain on those systems' resources.

Regaining Accreditation

In order to regain SACS accreditation, Clayton County Public Schools must meet the nine mandates described in the SACS CASI report on the school system. The system must also design and implement an approved continuous improvement plan. Once the points of this plan have been met, Clayton County Public Schools must host a Quality Assurance Review visit by SACS CASI at least once every five years, and the results of that visit will be reported to the Georgia State Council. The Accreditation Commission will then review the Quality Assurance Review team’s recommendation and make an accreditation decision.