HBCU-authorized C.R. Neal Academy moves toward a 2027 opening

C.R. Neal Academy is moving toward an August 2027 opening in Columbia, South Carolina, after the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception for its planned Atlas Road campus. The school and local station WIS describe it as the nation’s first public charter school authorized by a historically Black college or university. Voorhees University’s Charter Institute of Learning will oversee its academic performance, finances and community commitments.

The tuition-free school says its founding class will include 130 sixth-graders and 130 ninth-graders. Applications are scheduled to open October 28, 2026; if demand exceeds the available seats, enrollment will use the school’s approved lottery process. Its proposed STEM pathways include health sciences, advanced manufacturing and information technology, with plans to grow into a full grades 6–12 program by 2030.

WIS reports that the zoning approval covers a 7.83-acre site and a planned 41,000-square-foot facility. The project remains in its pre-opening phase, so the timeline, facility plans and enrollment details may change before students arrive. Families should use the school’s official site for current application information rather than treating this brief as an enrollment guarantee.