Members of the Indiana board of education say leaders of Thea Bowman Academy followed all the state requirements to seek a new sponsor and were not “authorizer shopping” as they fought to stay open beyond this month. The board voted Wednesday to approve an authorizer associated with a private university to be the new sponsor of the Gary school.

Ball State declined in January to renew the charter for the school, citing management issues and failures to comply with state and federal laws.

The fate of Gary’s Thea Bowman Leadership Academy is in flux after the Indiana Charter School Board Tuesday voted down its change of sponsor request.

Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary is seeking a second chance from Indiana Charter Board after Ball State University declined to renew its charter over long-standing governance concerns. Two Indiana laws intended to prevent failing charter schools from escaping closure or accountability through finding another sponsor could now face their first test.