The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority on a unanimous vote denied the charter application for Purpose Leadership Academy, a proposed K–8 school focused on African American and Hispanic male students, concluding the applicant did not meet statutory approval standards.

SPCSA staffer Katie Broughton summarized the review committee's findings before the board, saying the committee "recommends denying this application" and that the applicant "has not met the requirements outlined in NRS 3 88 a dot 2 49." The application proposed opening in Clark County within ZIP codes 89030, 89106 or 89115, serving kindergarten through third grade in year one with an initial enrollment of 162 students and ultimately expanding to K–8 with a total enrollment of 459 students.

The panel rated all four major sections of the application (meeting the need, academics, operations and financial) as "approaches the standard." Broughton said the application presented a clear mission and a model with six "Lions" competencies and components such as project-based learning, restorative practices and social-emotional learning, but that several core elements were not yet measurable or fully developed. "Several aspects of the mission are not currently measurable," she said, noting rubrics and some fidelity tools remained in progress.

Staff flagged gaps across sections: the application did not clearly justify why chosen strategies specifically addressed the needs of the targeted student population; recruitment plans for African American and Hispanic male students were not specific; academic benchmarking toward a 4- or 5-star rating lacked detail; timelines for monitoring and remediation were unclear; and proposed staffing, vendor evaluation, transportation for students with disabilities and incubation-year budgeting raised sustainability concerns. Broughton said the financial plan relied on optimistic enrollment assumptions that would leave minimal reserves and low staff salaries if those assumptions were unmet.

Founder Leondres Wright addressed the board during a three-minute applicant comment period. "While we are disappointed by the decision to deny authorization at this time, we are deeply encouraged by the SPCSA's invitation to work closely with the staff as we revise and strengthen our submission," Wright said, adding the founding team welcomes the opportunity "with humility, determination, and an unwavering commitment" to the students they intend to serve.

Board members praised the applicant's passion but agreed the application required clearer measurable goals and operational specifics. Vice Chair Patricia Haddad Bennett moved to deny the application "based on the finding that the applicant has failed to satisfy the requirements contained in NRS 3 88 a 0.2493" and to "designate director Makadan to meet and confer with the applicant." The motion was seconded by Board member Adavi and passed unanimously.

The denial is procedural: staff and the authority explicitly invited the applicant to revise and resubmit. The board recorded no further formal directions beyond designating the director to meet with the committee to form to discuss next steps.

The application record shows the review committee rated multiple subsections as "approaches the standard" rather than "meets the standard," and staff's memo includes more detailed subsection ratings and the proposed motion language cited at the meeting.