West Virginia Academy files suit against state Board of Education

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - The West Virginia Academy is filing a suit against the state Board of Education after a denied request to open a charter school last year.

The Academy is filing after its claim that the school’s application was approved, but Monongalia and Preston County School Boards failed to take official action, as required by law. According to the filing, the Academy is accusing the boards of working in secret and intentionally refusing to work together.

The lawsuit refers to, in large part, West Virginia Code, Subsection 18-5G-6(d), which states that the approval or rejection of a charter school must be decided upon within 90 days of submission. It states that “any failure to act on a charter application within the time specified shall be deemed an approval by the authorizer.”

If the application hadn’t been denied, the West Virginia Academy would have been the first charter school in the state. It was denied by both the Monongalia and Preston County Boards of Education on November 30. The application was first submitted on July 24, 2020.