The Birmingham Board of Education denied two charter school applications during a special-called meeting Tuesday night, including one that would have led to the opening of the state’s first LGBTQ-affirming charter school.

Birmingham Aids Outreach, an organization that has provided multiple services to the LGBTQ-community and those living with HIV and AIDS for 35 years, turned in its application to open Magic City Acceptance Academy in December. Birmingham’s review committee, which is responsible for reviewing charter school applications, recommended board members deny MCAA’s application due to its lack of detail when it comes to educational program design, an operations plan and financial plan.

The board accepted the review committee’s request for denial with a 5-3 vote. Board member Sandra Brown abstained. Board members Cheri Gardner, Michael Millsap and Mary Boehm voted for the charter.

Michael Wilson, who left his principal position at Glen Iris Elementary School in Birmingham to become principal of Magic City Acceptance Academy, said he felt disappointed.

"We were really hoping to form a collaborative partnership with Birmingham City (Schools) to work with youth who are having difficulties not only in the city, but in the surrounding areas, "Wilson said.

The school board also unanimously rejected the application for Knowledge Unlimited Public Charter School, also known as Knowledge U. Knowledge U, which includes grades K-5, hoped to open in Birmingham’s Ensley neighborhood to increase student’s math, reading and science proficiency rates in that area. The review committee said the application doesn’t meet requirements necessary for approval under the guidelines of Birmingham city Schools.

Knowledge U Founder Jeanisha Whetstone said the concerns the review committee presented to the board were clarified during the charter school’s internal and external review. As an educator, she has taught students who have struggled in her classroom.

“I’m currently on the frontlines. So each and every day, I have students in my class who cannot read. I have students in my class who can’t count past 100,” Whetstone said. “It’s kind of like a slap in the face because I see it everyday, and I have been told, ‘You have been denied already.’"

During public comments before the vote, Knowledge U Founder Jeanisha Whetstone, addressed some of the criticism towards her charter application. As an educator, Whetstone said have taught students who can’t read or count well. Denying the application was a “slap in the face”. pic.twitter.com/O6zkiI2xOk — Jonece Starr Dunigan (@StarrDunigan) January 29, 2020

Charter schools are public school that still receive state and federal funds, but function independently from local districts. In exchange for that flexibility, a charter school is held accountable and receives strict oversight from a charter authorizer, which is the Birmingham school board in this case. Each charter school sets goals. If a charter school doesn’t meet those goals, it could be shut down.

In its application, BAO promises to create a safe learning environment for LGBTQ students and their allies in sixth through 12th grade who are either falling behind or dropped out of traditional schools or are enrolled in home school. Advocates say LGBTQ youth often face a hostile school environment and are 3x more likely to drop out of school.

Magic City Acceptance Academy carries almost the same name as the Magic City Acceptance Center, which was founded by BAO in 2014 to provide multiple service to LGBTQ youth. BAO also opened the Magic City Wellness center in 2016 to provide LGBTQ-inclusive mental and medical healthcare. Both centers are located in south Birmingham in the Lakeview neighborhood. Applicants hoped to open the academy in August 2021 with a total of 250 students in sixth through 12th grade.

Knowledge U planned to use culturally-relevant, academically-rigorous material in its K-5 charter school. During a public hearing earlier this month, applicants for the school detailed a STEM curriculum, with a focus on aviation and aerospace. The school wanted to open during the fall of 2021.

The community made their voices heard during public comments. Those against charter schools stressed concerns that funding would be taken away from Birmingham City Schools. Those for the charters expressed the need for educational environments that are free from LGBTQ-based harassment and that will help students increase their reading and math skills.

The majority of the five individuals who spoke in favor of Magic City Acceptance Academy held back tears they talked about the consequences of not having affirming spaces for LGBTQ youth. Amanda Keller, director of the Magic City Acceptance Center, said her staff has sat through nine funerals of LGBTQ students who have died of suicide over the past few years. One woman’s voice quivered as she talked about her grandson who died of suicide after being bullied.

“He would have greatly benefited from a school like this because he was bullied,” she said. “He had extreme anxiety going to school everyday dealing with what they had to deal with.”

Applause from audience members wearing rainbow-themed Magic City Acceptance Academy T-shirts filled the room as three board members - Gardner, Millsap and Boehm - expressed their support for the LGBTQ charter. Gardner said she didn’t know about the Magic City Acceptance Center until last April, the same month an openly-gay, black teen named Nigel Shelby died of suicide in Huntsville. Shelby’s family members said he was bullied due to his sexuality.

After visiting the center that April, Gardner was impressed by what the center was doing for LGBTQ youth. Gardner expressed her strong faith in the academy’s leadership to support students. She said she is often asked on the campaign trail if she is for or against charter schools.

“My response at every stop was that I will weigh each application on its merit. I believe that each application will have its pros and I believe that each application will have its cons,” Gardner said. “But I also believe that every child should be in a safe and secure learning environment. I recognize the challenges of this group of students that the school is designated to serve."

Despite the support, Magic City Acceptance Academy didn’t get enough votes from the board. Despite the vote, Wilson said he will remain hopeful.

“I think the most important thing is that we are showing the need and we are losing kids,” Wilson said. “If we can save one student, we can save five students. If we can provide a safe space for students to succeed academically, that’s what we are supposed to do.”

This is the fourth and fifth time Birmingham school board members have turned down charter school applications since becoming an authorizer in 2016. They rejected i3 Academy’s application almost exactly a year ago. In 2017, the board denied the application of STAR Academy, which is now Legacy Prep. Both Legacy Prep, located in the Daniel Payne Community Plaza in west Birmingham, and i3 Academy, located in the city’s Woodlawn neighborhood, were able to reverse the Birmingham school board denials by gaining approval on appeals to the Alabama Public Charter School Commission.

The Birmingham school board has yet to approve a charter school application and must provide a written denial to applicants within 30 days telling them why the applications were denied. After an official denial is received, the applicants can appeal to the Alabama Public Charter School Commission.

Wilson said MCAA plans to appeal the board’s decision. Whetstone didn’t make a comment on whether or not she will appeal, but she does plan to address the school board’s concern about her application.

“All recommendations will be corrected, if necessary, and Knowledge U will move forward with opening the school for the 2021-22 school year,” Whetstone said.

Public charter schools are fairly new to Alabama, and only four have opened to students so far. Nationwide, charter schools remain embroiled in controversy, with traditional public school supporters like teachers unions opposing them.

The Alabama Education Association--which says it is not against all charter schools, only bad ones--is engaged in a lawsuit against an unopened charter school in south Alabama. The AEA has filed multiple lawsuits against the state charter school commission but was unsuccessful in those suits.

The law governing charter schools varies from state to state, and Alabama’s is considered to be one of the strongest laws in the country. Charter schools are so new, though, that the law hasn’t yet been tested fully.

Legacy Prep opened in August with 250 students in kindergarten through second grade and i3 Academy will open this coming August with 450 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

ACCEL Academy in Mobile, the state’s first charter school, opened at the start of the 2017-18 school year to serve students who are at risk of or have already dropped out of high school.

University Charter School opened in west Alabama in August 2018. Montgomery’s first charter school, LEAD Academy, joined Birmingham’s Legacy Prep in opening at the start of the current school year.

Woodland Prep in south Alabama, along with i3 Academy in Woodlawn, are scheduled to open at the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Related: Alabama Public Charter School Commission remade: Here’s their track record so far