Ethics board: Pryor can discuss charter schools

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The Connecticut Citizens Ethics Advisory Board has given its blessing to the new state education commissioner to handle charter school issues.

The board unanimously accepted an advisory opinion Thursday from its attorneys, who concluded Stefan Pryor doesn't have a conflict of interest because he no longer has any associations with charter schools.

Pryor co-founded Amistad Academy in New Haven in 1998 and is also a past board member of Achievement First, which manages Amistad and nearly two dozen other Connecticut and New York charter schools.

Pryor became Connecticut's education commissioner last fall. As a precaution, he requested the ethics board's formal opinion about participating in charter school discussions.

About 6,000 students attend Connecticut's 18 charter schools, which are considered public but operate with public and private money.