Superintendent Thomas Taylor wants to close Montgomery County’s only charter school, citing failures to serve students with special needs, enrollment declines and violations of federal privacy law.

By Thursday, he plans to make a formal recommendation that the school board revoke Mecca Business Learning Institute’s charter.

“MBLI has not taken the required corrective actions to remedy material violations of its charter and legal obligations,” Taylor wrote in a Monday letter.

“The overall result is a school environment in which student safety, educational continuity, and staff capacity are compromised, creating significant and ongoing harm that MBLI has been unwilling or unable to remedy.”

A rough start

Taylor’s move comes after months of trouble for the beleaguered charter school. The Banner reported last week that Taylor put the administration on notice for noncompliance with the federal law that protects the rights of students with disabilities.

District officials found multiple issues with the school, such as failures to provide timely special education services, retain qualified personnel and offer psychological services, according to Taylor.

When a reporter reached out to charter CEO LaChaundra Graham for comment on that article, she emailed documents that included full names and ID numbers of students who receive special education accommodations at the school, along with a summary of the services provided to each child.

This email exchange is now part of the argument Taylor is making against the school. He said Graham should have known that such an action is prohibited under federal student privacy law.

“This unlawful disclosure has caused MCPS to have to notify impacted families of the privacy breach, and field complaints from those concerned families, exposing the district to significant liability,” Taylor wrote.

What’s next?

Taylor’s four-page letter lays out a quick timeline for action. He asked for the school board to vote on his recommendation at its Jan. 22 meeting. The superintendent’s recommendation to formally revoke the charter was first reported by Bethesda Today.

Should the school board decide to close the Mecca Business Learning Institute, it will be the second time a charter failed to take off within Montgomery County Public Schools. Charter schools — which are publicly funded but privately operated — have struggled to establish themselves within the system.

Documents reviewed by The Banner show tensions between charter leaders and district administration. Graham previously said that MCPS officials made statements with “material inaccuracies” that showed “an increasingly adversarial posture” toward the charter.

Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.

Birth of a charter school

Launching MBLI has been a multi-year ordeal.

The county school board initially rejected its charter application, pointing to concerns about facilities and transportation. After an appeal, the state education board directed the district to reverse course.

That cleared the way for the school to open this fall.

Its leaders envisioned a career-focused academy that would teach students about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. They planned to launch with about 250 students in sixth and seventh grades, and then eventually expand to include high school grades.

Instead, pervasive issues have led to an enrollment nosedive. According to Taylor’s letter, the school now serves about 100 students.

“This resulted in transfers in staff that MBLI could not sustain,” he wrote.

Taylor added that employees wrote a letter expressing no faith in the school’s principal, citing “lack of clarity in roles, inadequate communication with staff and the community, lack of accountability by MBLI leadership, failure to prioritize staff and student safety, and insufficient administrative support.”

Graham previously told The Banner that the school’s enrollment problems were due to transportation problems.

MBLI was originally slated to open at a campus in Germantown, but construction delays forced them to launch at a temporary space in Bethesda, roughly 20 miles from where many of its students live.

But it ran into issues with its yellow bus vendor, making it even harder for families to get to school.

As of last week, Graham said she still expected the school to move into its permanent campus in Germantown after winter break. But Taylor’s letter raised concerns about that timeline.

“There are numerous operational requirements that need to be completed prior to the school’s relocation that remain incomplete, including health and safety inspections,” he wrote.

“Given that MBLI’s move date is only ten business days from now, it seems unlikely that the school will be able to execute its plan on time and no contingency or alternative plan has been announced,” he added.

Special education woes

Taylor saved his most blistering comments for what he described as the charter’s widespread issues with serving students with disabilities.

He said the school failed to implement students’ special education plans, threatening their federally protected rights.

Charter school leaders have disputed district officials’ assessment of the school. They assert that problems within students’ special education plans originated at kids’ previous public schools.

Nonetheless, Taylor gave charter officials a deadline for presenting a plan to correct the special education issues. He said they failed to meet it and haven’t taken the required actions since.

“Based on the documentation provided by MBLI, site visits conducted by MCPS staff, and the absence of required corrective actions, MBLI has not remedied the deficiencies previously identified despite extensive support and technical assistance,” he wrote.