From Education Week,
A newly signed law in Georgia that gives the governor the power to remove school board members in a district that does not have full accreditation is bringing fresh scrutiny to the role of AdvancED, a private agency that accredits schools in that state and 48 others.
[snip]
The governor’s actions, which he acknowledges were influenced by the critical accreditation report, point to the growing influence of AdvancED, the nation’s largest accreditor of school districts and individual K-12 schools.
Some observers are asking, though, whether the accrediting agency has overstepped its bounds by getting involved in politics and governance matters that may not directly affect education—a charge that AdvancED leaders strongly dispute.
I side with Georgia state senator Vincent D. Fort, an Atlanta-area Democrat, who opposed the new legislation. Senator Fort observed, “It is this unelected, unaccountable group that is allowed to dictate how members vote and who they are.”
In North Carolina, Burke and Wake county schools received the deluxe AdvancED treatment, which included the agency folks getting involved in “politics and governance that may not directly affect education.”
