The Cobb County School District, which has been beleaguered by charges of racism, and of the school board’s effective blocking of the ability of Black school board members to put items on the agenda, sent out an update on the review of the school system’s status by Cognia, the accreditation agency.

The CCSD’s update is reprinted it its entirety below:

Update: Cognia’s Special Review of the Cobb County School District 

We know the schools in Cobb are a big reason why families, homeowners, taxpayers, and businesses choose to live and work in Cobb County. It continues to be important to the Cobb County School District (CCSD) that every Cobb family is kept aware of the ongoing special review being conducted by our current accreditation agency, Cognia.  

In mid-April, after receiving roughly 50 complaints and after receiving a request from some CCSD Board members for an investigation, Cognia notified the District they would be conducting a special review. Over the last 60 days, CCSD’s Team has been working with Cognia staff to establish a timeline and process for the review.   

Cognia’s special review will occur between August 15^th and 18^th and will involve the presentation of evidence concerning four specific Cognia standards. Those standards, which relate to “the governing authority”, “equitable opportunities,” and “student performance”, were specifically cited by Cognia as areas of focus. The review will also involve interviews between Cognia and individual board members, the Superintendent, District staff, principals, teachers, and community members.  

As the District prepares for the 2021-2022 school year, staff has already spent more than 600 hours preparing for the review and continues to fully prepare and comply with Cognia’s process. The Cobb County School District believes that transparency in this process is important and will update our community again as new information becomes available in August.   

To better understand how this special review came to be, correspondence between Cognia, the District, and individual Board members can be reviewed here. Thank you for your patience and continued support for all students, families, and residents of Cobb County.