BPS Files to Terminate Legacy Academy's Agreement for Failing to meet Academic Requirements

Legacy Academy Charter School started calling parents last night notifying parents of the action by Brevard Public Schools.

According to court documents, the school board states that Legacy Academy failed to meet the following requirements:

1) failure to meet student academic achievement and requirements of student performance under Florida law and the charter contract;

2) failure to comply with laws (including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and the charter regarding exceptional student education (“ESE”);

3) failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management, willfully or recklessly failing to manage pubic funds in accordance with law, and failure to promote financial efficiency;

4) failure to comply with background screening requirements of employees and board members;

5) violation of law and breach of contract (teacher certification, curriculum failures, risking public assets, late submissions of monthly financial reports, poor board governance, improper meeting notices and meeting minutes, no written policies, and failure to cure contractual defaults), and that many of these deficiencies are repeat deficiencies.

According to court documents, Legacy Academy states "that it has not materially violated its charter contract. The children attending the school are achieving academically, although there's room for growth. The financial health of the organization is solid. Since the Notice of Termination filed by the School District Legacy in November, Legacy has materially changed its financial condition entirely. The ESE program is working collaboratively to achieve its goals. All staff and board members have been properly background checked."

Legacy Academy also states that it has been "compliant and/or corrected/cured materially each violation with every notice provided by the School Board. Any alleged non-compliance if valid is due to Brevard County's lack of support and/or administrative mis-guidance in achieving compliance. Brevard County has attempted to apply their district's policies to Legacy, an independently operated public charter school. Brevard County School Board has been on a mission to close Legacy since before it opened its doors less than three years ago. The current and past allegations by the school board are misleading and designed to deter the school's enrollment numbers, which has a direct negative effect on the school's financial standing."

Brevard Public School states that "We have to do what’s right for the 137 students who attended Legacy Charter, and getting them registered in traditional public schools so they can start on Monday, is our main focus and priority right now."