Forsyth County Schools OK'd For 'Flex Contract'

The Georgia school board has approved the state's second district to join a new program freeing schools from many education mandates. The board voted 11-1 on Thursday to allow the Forsyth County school district to enter into a "flexibility contract" with the state. The contracts give districts a break from state requirements like class size and teacher pay in exchange for promises that students will perform better than is required under the federal No Child Left Behind standards.

Gwinnett County, the state's largest district with 158,000 students, was the first to enter into such a contract based on a 2008 state law. Forsyth County schools have about 32,500 students.

-The Associated Press-

Clayton accreditation decision comes today

After months of working to get its act together, Clayton County schools today will learn the decision of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. At issue is whether the 50,000 student district should lose its accreditation. SACS had given Clayton until September 1st to meet nine mandates outlined in a scathing February report. Should the district lose accreditation, it would be only the third nationally since the 1960's, and first in Georgia.