BOARD POLICY - 0420.41

The Governing Board (Board) recognizes its ongoing responsibility to oversee that any charter school it authorizes is successfully fulfilling the terms of its charter and is providing a high-quality educational program for students enrolled in the charter school.

The Superintendent or designee shall identify at least one staff member to serve as a contact person for any charter school authorized by the Board. (Education Code 47604.32)

The Superintendent or designee shall visit each authorized 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 or designee may establish a staff charter review team to conduct an annual visit and document any concerns or highlights in an executive summary that will be shared with the Board. The Superintendent or designee shall also consult with legal counsel, as appropriate, regarding compliance of the approved charter proposal(s) and any other agreements, such as but not limited to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with legal requirements.

The Superintendent or designated charter school contact shall periodically meet with a representative of the charter school.

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 district submit a general waiver request to the State Board of Education (SBE) on its behalf. Upon approval of the Board, the Superintendent or designee shall submit such a waiver request to SBE on behalf of the charter school.

Provision of District Services

The charter school may purchase administrative or other services from the district or any other source. (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 memorandum of understanding (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)

Material Revisions to Charter

Material revisions to a charter may only be made with Board approval. Material revisions shall be governed by the same standards and criteria that apply to petitions for the authorization of charter schools as set forth in Education Code 47605 and shall include, but not be limited to, a reasonably comprehensive description of any new requirement for charter schools enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed. (Education Code 47607)

If an approved charter school proposes to expand operations to one or more additional sites or grade levels, whether concurrently with or unrelated to a renewal, the charter school shall request a material revision to its charter and shall notify the Board of those additional locations or grade levels. The Board shall consider approval of the additional locations or grade levels at an open meeting. (Education Code 47605, 47607) These are examples, but not an exclusive list, of potential changes, that may require a material revision to a charter school’s charter.

The Board shall have the authority to determine whether a proposed change in charter school operations constitutes a material revision of the approved charter.

Monitoring Charter School Performance

Any charter school authorized by the 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 Board.

The Board shall monitor each authorized 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 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 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)

Fees/Charges for Supervisorial Oversight

The district may charge for district supervisorial oversight as follows: (Education Code 47613; 5 CCR 11969.7)

1. Actual costs up to one percent of the charter school's revenue 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 cost.
2. Actual costs up to three percent of the charter school's revenue if the district provides the charter school substantially rent-free facilities.
3. 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 proactively contact SBE to ensure it receives 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)

1. 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. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 district: (Education Code 47607.3)

1. May provide technical assistance to the charter school based on the California School Dashboard.
2. May request that the California 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.

In accordance with law, the 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.

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 Board revokes or denies renewal of an authorized charter or the charter school ceases operation for any reason, the Superintendent or designee shall, when applicable in accordance with the charter and/or an MOU, 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 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)

Policy Adopted: August 22, 2023