GEORGETOWN, Del. - The Delaware State Board of Education has voted to revoke the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence’s charter, all but guaranteeing the school will now close at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
BASSE first opened in 2024 and was placed under formal review twice by the Department of Education for possible violations of its charter since then.
In February, the Department of Education’s Charter School Accountability Committee recommended that the school’s charter be revoked, citing concerns with enrollment, finances, staffing gaps and student support systems. Following that recommendation, the school’s charter was left in the hands of Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and the BOE.
A public hearing regarding the formal review and the committee’s recommendation was held on March 9.
On Thursday, March 19, Marten presented her decision to revoke the charter to the state board.
“This is a difficult decision,” Marten said citing what she called the school’s failure to meet the responsibilities of its charter.
Marten then asked the Board to affirm her decision. Multiple board members commented on the gravity of their vote prior to making a decision.
"If passion could save the day, the school would absolutely have been saved," one BOE member commented before the vote was held.
The board voted unanimously to revoke the charter and close BASSE.
In a statement on Thursday, BASSE leadership expressed their disappointment with the board's decision, saying that it had been made with minimal input from the school community and without a visit to or direct communication with the school from Secretary Marten.
"It is unfortunate that while our mission is to serve a diverse group of students from 44 schools, the education system’s decision works against the very harm BASSE was founded to address—inequitable learning opportunities in Delaware public schools," BASSE's leadership said. "Our students represent a wide range of identities, including gifted students, students with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and multilingual learners. Instead of supporting BASSE’s work to close educational gaps, this system’s actions risk widening them."
The school's leadership's full response is available in the PDF attached to this article:
