DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of the Secretary
PROPOSED
Education Impact Analysis Pursuant to 14 Del.C. Section 122(d)
275 Charter Schools
A. Type of Regulatory Action Required
Amendment to Existing Regulation
B. Synopsis of Subject Matter of the Regulation
The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 275 Charter Schools to require a charter school that plans to restructure pursuant to the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (currently reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act) to submit such plan as a major modification, to clarify definitions, and to provide guidance on what can be considered part of the record as it relates to decisions made by the Secretary and State Board for charter applications, renewals, major modifications, and formal review of a charter.
Persons wishing to present their views regarding this matter may do so in writing by the close of business on or before Thursday, July 3, 2008 to Susan Haberstroh, Education Associate, Regulation Review, Department of Education, at 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, Delaware 19901. A copy of this regulation is available from the above address or may be viewed at the Department of Education business office.
C. Impact Criteria
1. Will the amended regulation help improve student achievement as measured against state achievement standards? The amended regulation continues to require charter schools to focus on the improvement of student achievement as measured against the state achievement standards.
2. Will the amended regulation help ensure that all students receive an equitable education? The amended regulation continues to require charter schools to ensure all students receive an equitable education.
3. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ health and safety are adequately protected? The amended regulation continues to require charter schools to ensure all students’ health and safety are adequately protected.
4. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ legal rights are respected? The amended regulation continues to require charter schools to ensure all students’ legal rights are respected.
5. Will the amended regulation preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision making at the local board and school level? The amended regulation continues to preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision making at the charter school level.
6. Will the amended regulation place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels? The amended regulation does not place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school level.
7. Will the decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated be placed in the same entity? The amended regulations does not change where the decision making authority and accountability is placed.
8. Will the amended regulation be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies? The amended regulation is consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state education policies.
9. Is there a less burdensome method for addressing the purpose of the regulation? There is not a less burdensome method for addressing this regulation.
10. What is the cost to the State and to the local school boards of compliance with the regulation? There are not additional costs the charter schools for compliance with the amended regulation.
275 Charter Schools
1.1 The purpose of these regulations is to provide rules to govern the implementation of 14 Del.C. Ch. 5 (hereafter, the “Charter School Law”).
1.2 These regulations establish the requirements for applying for a charter to operate a public school, and for opening and operating the school, when a charter is granted by the Department of Education with the approval of the State Board of Education.
1.3 These regulations affect students who attend Charter Schools, the parents and other caregivers of these students, the directors, staff and, administrators and boards of the Charter Schools, and the students, staff, administrators and boards of the reorganized school districts of the State.
1.4 These regulations shall bind all Charter Schools and are incorporated into all charters approved by, or transferred to the Department with the consent of the State Board.
2.1 The following definitions apply for purposes of interpreting the Charter School Law and these regulations:
“Accountability Committee”: Any Charter School Accountability Committee established by the Department to review and report to the Department as provided in Sections 511 and 515 of the Charter School Law.
“Applicant”: A legal entity organized under the Delaware General Corporation Law that has applied to the Department for, but not yet received, a charter to operate a charter school, or the renewal or modification of such a charter, as the context indicates.
“Audit”: An informal financial, programmatic, or compliance audit of a charter school.
“Charter Holder”: The legal entity organized under the Delaware General Corporation Law to which a charter is issued by the Department with the approval of the State Board.
“Charter School”: A non home based full time public school that is operated in an approved physical plant under a charter granted by, or transferred to the Department with the approval of the State Board for the personal physical attendance of all students.
“DSTP”: The Delaware Student Testing Program or successor statewide assessment program established at 14 Del.C. §151, et.seq., and, as the context requires, the assessments administered pursuant to the program.
“Department”: The Delaware Department of Education.
“First Instructional Day”: The first day a Charter School is open with students in attendance.
“Formal Review”: The lawful investigation of a Charter School to determine whether the school is violating the terms of its charter. Formal reviews may include, but are not limited to, on site visits, inspection of educational records and other documents, and interviews of parents, Charter School employees and others with knowledge of the school’s operations and educational programs.
“Founding Board of Directors”: The duly elected Board of Directors of an Applicant at the time the original application for a charter is filed with the Department.
“Parent”: The natural or adoptive parent, or the legal guardian, of a student enrolled in the charter school. “Parent” also includes individuals authorized to act as Relative Caregivers under the provisions of 14 Del.C. §202(e)(2).
“Performance Review”: Reserved
“Renewal”: The approval of an application to continue operating an existing Charter School for an additional five year period, available after the school has been in operation for three four years.
“Secretary”: The Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education.
“State Board”: The Delaware State Board of Education.
3.1 Application Deadlines: Applications to establish new Charter Schools must be submitted to the Department between November 1st and December 31st for schools preparing to admit students the second September 1st first day of school of the second school year thereafter.
3.2 All applications, whether for an original charter, a modification of a charter or the Renewal of a charter, shall be made on forms approved by the Department.
3.3 The Department may require a criminal background check on any person involved in the preparation of an application, whether for an original charter, a major modification or a charter Renewal, and on any person involved in the development of the proposed Charter School.
3.4 An original and ten (10) copies of a completed application must be received by the Department by the application deadline in order for the application to be considered. Incomplete applications, or applications received after the deadline, will not be considered.
3.5 All written communications from the Department or the Accountability Committee to an Applicant shall be sent to the contact person identified in the application, at the address provided in the application. An Applicant is responsible for notifying the Department in writing of any change in the contact person or contact address after its application is submitted.
3.6 An application is not complete unless all of the following requirements are met:
3.6.1 All questions on the application form are answered.
3.6.2 All documentation required by the application form or subsequently requested by the Department or the Accountability Committee is received.
3.7 No application for a new Charter School will be accepted by the Department in any year in which the Department with the approval of the State Board has decided not to accept applications.
3.8 Applications will not remain pending from year to year. Applications that do not result in the issuance of a charter must be resubmitted in full in subsequent years to be considered in subsequent years.
3.9 The State Board of Education may designate one or more of its members to sit as nonvoting members of the Accountability Committee.
3.10 In deciding whether to approve or disapprove any application for an original charter, a major modification of a charter or the Renewal, the renewal of a charter, or the formal review of a charter, the Secretary and State Board shall base the decision on the record. The record shall consist of the application and any documents filed therewith in support of the application, the preliminary and final report of the Accountability Committee, any response or other evidence, oral or otherwise, provided by the Applicant to the Accountability Committee prior to the issuance of its final report, any comments received at any public hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Charter School Law, including comments made at any such hearing by the applicant in response to the Accountability Committee’s final report and any written or electronic comments received at or before any such public hearing. In the case of the renewal or formal review of a charter, the record may also include performance documentation generated during the term of the charter or related to the subject of the formal review, including but not limited to, audits, student testing data, and parent complaint documentation. No other evidence shall be considered. Written and electronic comments must be received by the Education Associate for Charter Schools no later than the beginning of the public hearing to be included in the record.
4.1 Applicant Qualifications
4.1.1 The Applicant must demonstrate that its board of directors has and will maintain collective experience, or contractual access to such experience, in the following areas:
4.1.1.1 Research based curriculum and instructional strategies, to particularly include the curriculum and instructional strategies of the proposed educational program.
4.1.1.2 Business management, including but not limited to accounting and finance.
4.1.1.3 Personnel management.
4.1.1.4 Diversity issues, including but not limited to outreach, student recruitment, and instruction.
4.1.1.5 At risk populations and children with disabilities, including but not limited to students eligible for special education and related services.
4.1.1.6 School operations, including but not limited to facilities management.
4.1.2 The application must identify the certified teachers, the parents and the community members who have been involved in the preparation of the application and the development of the proposed Charter School.
4.1.3 The Applicant’s bylaws must be submitted with the application and must demonstrate that:
4.1.3.1 The Charter Holder’s board of directors will include a certificated teacher employed as a teacher at the Charter School and a Parent of a currently enrolled student of the school no later than the school’s First Instructional Day, further provided a single individual shall not represent both the certified teacher and parent role on the board;
4.1.3.2 The Applicant’s business is restricted to the opening and operation of: Charter Schools, before school programs, after school programs and educationally related programs offered outside the traditional school year.
4.1.3.3 The board of directors will meet regularly and comply with the Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del.C. Ch. 100 in conducting the Charter School’s business.
4.2 Student Performance
4.2.1 Minimum Requirements
4.2.1.1 The Applicant must agree and certify that it will comply with the requirements of the State Public Education Assessment and Accountability System pursuant to 14 Del.C. §§151, 152, 153, 154, and 157 and Department rules and regulations implementing Accountability, to specifically include the Delaware Student Testing Program or any success statewide assessment program.
4.2.1.2 The Applicant must demonstrate that it has established and will apply measurable student performance goals on the assessments administered pursuant to the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP), and a timetable for accomplishment of those goals.
4.2.1.3 The Applicant must agree and certify that the Charter School’s average student performance on the DSTP assessments in each content area will meet or exceed the statewide average student performance of students in the same grades for each year of test administration, unless the student population meets the criteria established in Section 4.2.2.
4.2.2 Special Student Populations
4.2.2.1 An Applicant for a charter proposing enrollment preferences for students at risk of academic failure shall comply with the minimum performance goals established in Subsections 4.2.1.2 and 4.2.1.3. This requirement shall be waived where the Applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department and State Board that the Charter School will primarily serve at risk students and will apply performance goals and timetables which are appropriate for such a student population.
4.2.2.2 An Applicant for a charter proposing an enrollment preference other than a preference for students at risk of academic failure shall comply with the Section. 4.2.1. In addition, the Department, with the approval of the State Board, may require such an Applicant to establish and apply additional and higher student performance goals consistent with the needs and abilities of the student population likely to be served as a result of the proposed enrollment preferences.
4.2.3 If the Applicant plans to adopt or use performance standards or assessments in addition to the standards set by the Department or the assessments administered pursuant to the DSTP, the application must specifically identify those additional standards or assessments and include a planned baseline acceptable level of performance, measurable goals for improving performance and a timetable for accomplishing improvement goals for each additional indicator or assessment. The use of additional performance standards or assessments shall not replace, diminish or otherwise supplant the Charter School’s obligation to meet the performance standards set by the Department or to use the assessments administered pursuant to the DSTP.
4.3 Educational Program
4.3.1 The application must demonstrate that the school’s proposed program, curriculum and instructional strategies are aligned to State content standards, meet all grade appropriate State program requirements, and in the case of any proposed Charter High School, includes driver education. The educational program shall include the provision of extra instructional time for at risk students, summer school and other services required to be provided by school districts pursuant to the provisions of 14 Del.C. §153. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an Applicant from proposing high school graduation requirements in addition to the state graduation requirements.
4.3.2 The application must demonstrate that the Charter School’s educational program has the potential to improve student performance. The program’s potential may be evidenced by:
4.3.2.1 Academically independent, peer reviewed studies of the program conducted by persons or entities without a financial interest in the educational program or in the proposed Charter School;
4.3.2.2 Prior successful implementation of the program; and
4.3.2.3 The Charter School’s adherence to professionally accepted models of student development.
4.3.3 The application must demonstrate that the Charter School’s educational program and procedures will comply with applicable state and federal laws regarding children with disabilities, unlawful discrimination and at risk populations, including but not limited to the following showings.
4.3.3.1 The school’s plan for providing a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, with 14 Del.C. Ch. 31 and with 14 DE Admin. Code 925, specifically including a plan for having a continuum of educational placements available for children with disabilities.
4.3.3.2 The school’s plan for complying with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
4.3.3.3 The school’s plan for complying with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
4.3.3.4 The school’s plan for complying with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
4.4 Economic Viability.
4.4.1 The application must demonstrate that the school is economically viable and shall include satisfactory documentation of the sources and amounts of all proposed revenues and expenditures during the school’s first three years of school operation after opening for instructional purposes. There must be a budgetary reserve for contingencies of not less than 2.0% of the total annual amount of proposed revenues. In addition, the application shall document the sources and amounts of all proposed revenues and expenditures during the start up period prior to the opening of the school.
4.4.2 The Department may require that the Applicant submit data demonstrating sufficient demand for Charter School enrollment if another Charter School is in the same geographic area as the Applicant’s proposed school. Such data may include, but is not limited to, enrollment waiting lists maintained by other Charter Schools in the same geographic area and demonstrated parent interest in the Applicant’s proposed school.
4.4.3 The application shall identify with specificity the proposed source(s) of any loan(s) to the Applicant including, without limitation, loans necessary to implement the provisions of any major contract as set forth below, and the date by which firm commitments for such loan(s) will be obtained.
4.4.4 The application shall contain a timetable with specific dates by which the school will have in place the major contracts necessary for the school to open on schedule. “Major contracts” shall include, without limitation, the school’s contracts for equipment, services (including bus and food services, and related services for special education), leases of real and personal property, the purchase of real property, the construction or renovation of improvements to real property, and insurance. Contracts for bus and food services must be in place no later than August 1st of the year in which the school proposes to open and August 1st of each year thereafter. Contracts for the lease or purchase of real property, or the construction or renovation of improvements to real property must be in place sufficiently far in advance so that the Applicant might obtain any necessary certificate of occupancy for the school premises no later than June 15th of the year in which the school proposes to open.
4.4.5 Reserved
4.5 Attendance, Discipline, Student Rights and Safety
4.5.1 The application must include a draft “Student Rights and Responsibilities Manual” that meets applicable constitutional standards regarding student rights and conduct, including but not limited to discipline, speech and assembly, procedural due process and applicable Department regulations regarding discipline.
4.5.1.1 The “Student Rights and Responsibilities Manual” must comply with the Gun Free Schools Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C.A. §8921) and Department Regulation 878.
4.5.1.2 The application must include a plan to distribute the “Student Rights and Responsibilities Manual” to each Charter School student at the beginning of each school year. Students who enroll after the beginning of the school year shall be provided with a copy of the “Student Rights and Responsibilities Manual” at the time of enrollment.
4.5.2 The application must include the process and procedures the Charter School will follow to comply with the following laws:
4.5.2.1 14 Del.C. Ch. 27 and applicable Department regulations regarding school attendance, including a plan to distribute attendance policies to each Charter School student at the beginning of each school year. Students who enroll after the beginning of the school year shall be provided with a copy of the attendance policy at the time of enrollment.
4.5.2.2 11 Del.C. Ch. 85 and applicable Department regulations regarding criminal background checks for public school related employment.
4.5.2.3 14 Del.C. §4112 and applicable Department regulations regarding the reporting of school crimes.
4.5.2.4 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and implementing federal and Department regulations regarding disclosure of student records.
4.5.2.5 The provision of free and reduced lunch to eligible students pursuant to any applicable state or federal statute or regulation.
4.5.3 The requirement that the Applicant provide for the health and safety of students, employees and guests will be judged against the needs of the student body or population served. Except as otherwise required in this regulation, the Applicant must either agree and certify that the services of at least one (1) full time nurse will be provided for each facility in which students regularly attend classes, or demonstrate that it has an adequate and comparable plan for providing for the health and safety of its students. Any such plan must include the Charter School’s policies and procedures for routine student health screenings, for administering medications to students (including any proposed self administration), for monitoring chronic student medical conditions and for responding to student health emergencies. Any applicant which receives funding equivalent to the funding provided to school districts for one or more school nurses shall provide its students the full time services of a corresponding number of registered nurses.
5.1 When granted, a charter is an authorization for the Charter Holder to open and operate a Charter School in accordance with the terms of the charter, including the terms of any conditions placed on the charter by the Department with the approval of the State Board.
5.1.1 It is the responsibility of the Charter Holder to notify the Department in writing of its compliance with any time frames or other terms or conditions contained in or imposed on the charter. The Department may require the Charter Holder to produce satisfactory evidence, including written documentation, of compliance.
5.2 Compliance with the charter, including compliance with the terms of any conditions placed on the charter, is a condition precedent to the authority to open and operate the Charter School. Failure to comply with the terms of the charter and any conditions placed on the charter, including deadlines, operates as a forfeiture of the authority to open the Charter School regardless of previous approval. These regulations are incorporated into and made a part of each charter approved by the Department with the consent of the State Board. A Charter School’s failure to comply with these regulations may be treated as a failure on the part of the school to comply with its charter.
6.1 The Department may withhold State and local funding from a Charter Holder not in compliance with the terms of the charter being funded, including compliance with any conditions placed on such charter.
6.2 The Department may withhold State and local funding from a Charter Holder while one or more of its charters is under formal review.
6.3 State and local funding of any charter on probationary status will be released in accordance with the terms of the probation.
6.4 Federal funding for a Charter Holder and under the control of the Department will be disbursed according to the laws, regulations and policies of the federal program providing the funding and the terms of any applicable federal grant approval including state requirements.
8.1 Enrollment Preferences
8.1.1 An Applicant to establish a new Charter School shall indicate in its application whether children of the Charter School’s founders will be given an enrollment preference. If a founders’ preference will be given, the application shall include the standard adopted by the Founding Board of Directors to determine the founders. The standard used to determine the founders shall be consistent with the requirements of Section 506(b)(4) of the Charter School Law. If the application is approved, the Charter Holder shall provide the Department with the identity of its founders no later than March 1 immediately preceding the First Instructional Day.
8.2 Solicitations.
8.2.1 Any person or entity soliciting contributions, gifts or other funding on behalf of or for the benefit of an existing or potential Charter School shall notify the person or entity solicited that enrollment of an individual student in the Charter School is not contingent on, or assured by, any such contribution, gift or other funding.
8.2.2 Written notices of fund raising activities for the benefit of a Charter School must contain the following statement: “The [name of school] is a public school. Contributions and gifts are not required for admission to the school and will in no way affect or improve a student’s opportunity for admission.”
8.3 Debts
8.3.1 Any person or entity offering a loan to a Charter School must be advised by the school that debts of the school are not debts of the State of Delaware and that neither the State nor any other agency or instrumentality of the State is liable for the repayment of any indebtedness.
9.1 A charter holder may apply to the Department for a modification of the charter following the granting of the charter.
9.2 The application shall be submitted on a form approved by the Department and shall specify the exact modification requested and describe the need for the modification.
9.3 The standards for deciding a modification application shall be as provided in Section 4.0 of these regulations for the original grant of the charter.
9.4 The following are considered applications for a new charter and shall not be processed or considered as a modification application:
9.4.1 An application to collectively change the mission, goals for student performance and educational program of the charter school; or
9.4.2 An application, at any time before the First Instructional Day, to offer educational services at a site other than the site approved as part of the school’s charter, when the charter has previously been amended to change the school’s site; or
9.4.3 An application to replace, remove or permit the school to operate without an educational management organization providing administrative, managerial or instructional staff or services to the charter holder at any time before the First Instructional Day.
9.5 An application for a major or minor charter modification may not be filed while a school’s charter is on formal review, except where the Secretary determines that the requested modification is unrelated to the reason the school’s charter has been placed on formal review or where the modification addresses the reason the school was placed on formal review provided the modification is filed before the preliminary report is approved by the Accountability Committee.
9.6 A charter shall not be modified to permit a charter school’s first instructional day to occur later than the third September 15th after the date the charter is originally granted. In the event that the first instructional day does not occur by that date, the charter shall be deemed forfeited and the authority to open and operate a charter school expired. Further, no charter shall be modified to permit a charter school to obtain a certificate of occupancy, either temporary or final, for all or any part of the premises to be occupied by the school, later than June 15 immediately preceding the authorized opening date of the school.
9.7 An increase or decrease of up to 5% in a charter school’s current authorized enrollment shall not be considered a modification of the school’s charter. Any modification application to increase or decrease a charter school’s current authorized enrollment by more than 5% must be filed between November 1st and December 31st and, if approved, shall be effective the following school year.
9.8 Major modifications.
9.8.1 A major modification is any proposed change to a charter, including proposed changes to any condition placed on the charter, which would:
9.8.1.1 Replace, remove or permit the school to operate without an educational management organization providing administrative, managerial or instructional staff or services to the charter school at anytime on or after the First Instructional Day; or
9.8.1.2 Alter enrollment preferences; or
9.8.1.3 Result in an increase or decrease in the school’s total authorized enrollment of more than 15%, provided further the major modification request must be filed between November 1st and December 31st and, if approved, shall be effective the following school year; or
9.8.1.4 Alter grade configurations; or
9.8.1.5 At any time after the First Instructional Day, offer educational services at a site other than the site approved as part of the school’s charter, except where such change is the unavoidable result of a loss by fire or other “casualty” as that term is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary; or
9.8.1.6 At any time before the First Instructional Day, offer educational services at a site other than the site approved as part of the school’s charter, provided that the charter has not previously been amended to change the school’s site; or
9.8.1.7 Alter any two of the following: the school’s mission, goals for student performance, or educational program; or
9.8.1.8 Alter the charter school’s performance agreement with the Department; or
9.8.1.9 Alter the charter school's charter to satisfy the provisions of "restructuring" as prescribed in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) or any reauthorization thereof.
9.9 Minor modifications.
9.9.1 A minor modification is any proposed change to a charter, including proposed changes to any condition placed on the charter, which is not a major modification. Minor modifications include, but are not limited to:
9.9.1.1 Changes to the name of either the charter school or charter holder; or
9.9.1.2 The first extension of any deadline imposed on the charter school or charter holder by thirty (30) working days or less (or by 15 calendar days in the case of the First Instructional Day); or
9.9.1.3 Changes in the standards or assessments used to judge student performance (other than the State standards or the assessments administered pursuant to the DSTP); or
9.9.1.4 In the case of a charter school which is open with students in attendance, offering educational services at a site other than, or in addition to, the site approved as part of the school’s charter, when use of the approved site has unavoidably been lost by reason of fire or other casualty as that term is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary; or
9.9.1.5 Changes to alter not more than one of the following: the school’s mission, goals for student performance, or educational program; or
9.9.1.6 An increase or decrease in the school’s total authorized enrollment of more than 5%, but not more than 15%, provided further the minor modification request must be filed between November 1st and December 31st and, if approved, shall be effective the following school year; or
9.9.1.7 Alter, expand or enhance existing or planned school facilities or structures, including any plan to use temporary or modular structures, provided that the applicant demonstrates that the school will maintain the health and safety of the students and staff and remain economically viable as provided in 4.4 above; or
9.9.1.8 Any change in the school’s agreement with an educational management organization other than as set forth in 9.4.3 and 9.8.1.1 above; or
9.9.1.9 A change to the current authorized number of hours, either daily or annually, devoted to actual school sessions. Regardless of any proposed change, the school shall maintain the minimum instructional hours required by 14 Delaware Code; or
9.9.1.10 A change in the terms of the current site facilities arrangements including, but not limited to, a lease to a purchase or a purchase to a lease arrangement; or
9.9.2 The Secretary may decide the minor modification application based on the supporting documents supplied with the application unless the Secretary finds that additional information is needed from the applicant.
9.9.3 The Secretary may refer a minor modification request to the Accountability Committee for review if the Secretary determines, in her/his sole discretion, that such review would be helpful in her/his consideration of the application. If the Secretary refers a minor modification application to the Accountability Committee, she/he may decide the application based on any report from the Committee and the supporting documents related to the application. The applicant for a minor modification shall be notified if the minor modification request has been forwarded to the Accountability Committee. The applicant may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation.
9.9.4 The Secretary may deny a minor modification request if the supporting documentation is incomplete or insufficient provided the applicant has been advised additional information was needed
9.9.5 Upon receiving an application for a minor modification, the Secretary shall notify the State Board of the application and her/his decision on whether to refer the application to the Accountability Committee.
9.9.6 The meeting and hearing process provided for in Section 511(h), (i) and (j) of the Charter School Law shall not apply to a minor modification application even where the Secretary refers the application to the Accountability Committee.
9.9.7 Decisions for minor modifications to a charter shall be decided by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the State Board of Education, within 30 working days from the date the application was filed, unless the timeline is waived by the Secretary and the applicant.
10.1 Charters are granted for an initial period of 4 years of operation and are renewable every 5 years thereafter.
10.2 Renewals are only available to the current Charter Holder and may not be used to transfer a charter to a different legal entity.
10.3 Charters shall be renewed only if the school receives a satisfactory Performance Review.
11.1 Any public hearing conducted by the Department pursuant to the provisions of the Charter School Law shall be conducted as a joint public hearing with the State Board of Education.
