Philadelphia has 87 charter schools, and the new local school board voted Thursday night not to add any new ones this fall.
Two of the denials - the Joan Myers Brown Academy by String Theory and the Tacony Academy at St. Vincent's - were 9-0 votes. A Frederick Douglass High School with ties to the People for People organization went down by a 6-0 vote with three abstentions.
String Theory currently operates two Philadelphia charters, and co-founder Jason Corosanite wasn't sure what to expect from the new board.
"I think they're kind of setting a tone that, at least according to their measures, they want to keep this high bar. But we disagree with what those findings are," Corosanite said.
RELATED: School board to vote on application for 3 new charter schools
Board member Letitia Egea-Hinton says she didn't come to the board with the perspective that all charters were better.
"What I've learned is that there are great charters and low-performing charters, mirroring the same outcomes of traditional public schools," she said.
About a third of the district's $3 billion budget supports Philadelphia's charter schools.
The three applicants can appeal the board's decision to the state Charter School Appeal Board.