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The Board of Education for the Long Beach Unified School District has unanimously denied a sixth request to bestow charter status on the Direct Instruction Entrepreneurial Academy (DIEA). The decision was made without discussion at the most recent Board of Education meeting on December 2.

DIEA seeks to be a kindergarten through fifth grade school emphasizing the development of entrepreneurial skills in young children, according to its website. Its founder, Loretta McDonald, has submitted five previous proposals for charter recognition over the past four years, all of which have been denied by the school board.

The most recent veto comes on the heels of a recommendation by the California Charter Schools Association to revoke charter status from five California schools, including New City School in Long Beach.

“We believe that charter public schools should be held to high standards of performance and when they do not perform, we advocate for their non-renewal,” Jed Wallace, president of CCSA, said in a statement. “We know that closing low-performing charter public schools is one of the strongest tools available to ensure quality in California’s charter school sector.”

At this time, requests for comment from both DIEA and McDonald have not been returned.