Charter School Oversight

The Governing Board recognizes its ongoing responsibility to oversee that any charter school authorized by the Governing Board is successfully fulfilling the terms of its charter. The Superintendent or designee shall identify at least one staff member to serve as a contact person for each charter school authorized by the Governing Board. (Education Code 47604.32) The Superintendent or designee shall visit each charter school at least annually and may inspect or observe any part of a charter school at any time. (Education Code 47604.32, 47607) The Superintendent may designate someone to attend meetings of the charter school governing body whenever possible. Monitoring Charter School Performance Any charter school authorized by the Governing Board shall be monitored by the Superintendent or designee to determine whether the charter school complies with all legal requirements applicable to charter schools, including all reports required of charter schools by law, as specified in Education Code 47604.32. Any violations of law shall be reported to the Governing Board. The Superintendent or designee and the governing bodies of charter schools authorized by the Governing Board shall review new laws and regulations applicable to charter schools. The Governing Board shall monitor each charter school to determine whether it is achieving the measurable student outcomes set forth in the charter, both schoolwide and for each numerically significant student subgroup served by the school as defined in Education Code 52052. This determination shall be based on the measures specified in the approved charter and any applicable memorandum of understanding (MOU), and on the charter school's annual review and assessment of its progress toward the goals and actions identified in its local control and accountability plan (LCAP), as reported in the California School Dashboard. The Governing Board shall monitor the fiscal condition of the charter school based on any financial report or information obtained from the charter school, including, but not limited to, the charter school's preliminary budget, LCAP and annual update of the charter school's LCAP, first and second interim financial reports, and final unaudited report for the full prior year. (Education Code 47604.32, 47604.33, 47606.5) Waivers If the charter school wishes to request a general waiver of any state law or regulation applicable to it, it shall request that the Governing Board approve and the district submit a general waiver request to the State Board of Education (SBE) on its behalf. Upon approval of the Governing Board, the Superintendent or designee shall submit such a waiver request to SBE on behalf of the charter school. Provision of District Services Upon approval by the Governing Board of an appropriate agreement, the charter school may contract with the district or any other source for administrative or other services. (Education Code 47613) Whenever the district agrees to provide administrative or support services to a charter school, the district and the charter school shall develop a MOU, which clarifies the financial and operational agreements between them. At the request of a charter school, the Superintendent or designee shall create and submit any reports required by the State Teachers' Retirement System or Public Employees' Retirement System on behalf of the charter school. The district may charge the charter school for the actual costs of the reporting services, but shall not require the charter school to purchase payroll processing services from the district as a condition for creating and submitting these reports. (Education Code 47611.3) Location of Charter Schools Except when permitted to operate outside district boundaries pursuant to Education Code 47605 and 47605.1, a charter school shall be located within district boundaries. Fees/Charges for Supervisorial Oversight The district may charge for district supervisorial oversight as follows: (Education Code 47613; 5 CCR 11969.7) - Actual costs up to one percent of the charter school's revenue - Actual costs up to three percent of the charter school's revenue if the district provides the charter school substantially rent-free facilities If the district provides the charter school with facilities under Education Code 47614 and charges the charter school a pro-rata share of the facilities costs calculated pursuant to 5 CCR 11969.7, the district may only charge the charter school for the actual costs of supervisorial oversight up to one percent of the charter school's revenue. - Actual costs if the district is assigned supervisorial oversight responsibility for the charter school by SBE when authorized on appeal Technical Assistance/Intervention Whenever a charter school is identified for technical assistance based on the performance of one or more numerically significant student subgroups on SBE-established criteria, the charter school shall receive technical assistance from the County Superintendent of Schools. Such technical assistance shall be focused on building the charter school's capacity to develop and implement actions and services responsive to student and community needs, including, but not limited to, any of the following: (Education Code 47607.3) - Assisting the charter school to identify its strengths and weaknesses in regard to the state priorities applicable to the charter school pursuant to Education Code 47605(c) This shall include working collaboratively with the charter school to review performance data on the state and local indicators included in the California School Dashboard and other relevant local data and to identify effective, evidence-based programs or practices that address any areas of weakness. - Working collaboratively with the charter school to secure assistance from an academic, programmatic, or fiscal expert or team of experts to identify and implement effective programs and practices that are designed to improve performance in any areas of weakness identified by the charter school Another service provider, including, but not limited to, a school district, county office of education, or charter school, may be solicited to act as a partner to the charter school in need of technical assistance. - Obtaining from the charter school timely documentation demonstrating that it has completed the activities described in Items #1 and 2 or substantially similar activities, or has selected another service provider to work with the charter school to complete the activities described in Items #1 and 2 or substantially similar activities, and ongoing communication with the Board to assess the charter school's progress in improving student outcomes In addition, if, in three out of four consecutive school years, a charter school fails to improve outcomes for three or more numerically significant student subgroups, or for all of the student subgroups if the school has fewer than three subgroups, in regard to one or more state or school priorities identified in the charter, the County Superintendent may request that the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), with SBE approval, assign the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to provide advice and assistance to the charter school pursuant to Education Code 52074. (Education Code 47607.3; 52072) In accordance with law, the Governing Board may deny a charter school's renewal petition or may revoke a charter based on the charter school's poor performance, especially with regard to inadequate academic achievement of all numerically significant subgroups of students served by the charter school. (Education Code 47607, 47607.2) Complaints Each charter school shall establish and maintain policies and procedures in accordance with the uniform complaint procedures as specified in 5 CCR 4600-4670 to enable any person alleging the school's noncompliance with Education Code 47606.5 or 47607.3 to file a complaint with the charter school. (Education Code 52075) A complaint may be filed anonymously if the complaint provides evidence or information leading to evidence to support an allegation of noncompliance. A complainant who is not satisfied with the decision may appeal the decision to the SPI. (Education Code 52075) If the charter school finds merit in the complaint or the SPI finds merit in an appeal, a remedy shall be provided to all affected students and parents/guardians. (Education Code 52075) School Closure In the event that the Governing Board revokes or denies renewal of a charter or the charter school ceases operation for any reason, the Superintendent or designee shall, when applicable in accordance with the charter school and/or an applicable agreement between the district and the charter school, provide assistance to facilitate the transfer of the charter school's former students and to finalize financial reporting and close-out of the charter school. The Superintendent or designee shall provide notification to the California Department of Education, within 10 calendar days of the Governing Board's action, if renewal of a charter is denied, a charter is revoked, or a charter school will cease operation for any reason. Such notification shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the circumstances of the closure, the effective date of the closure, and the location of student and personnel records. (Education Code 47604.32; 5 CCR 11962.1)