Charter renewal, revocation rules nearly final
SBE also acts on School Improvement Grants, Parent Empowerment
Published: October 1, 2011
Formal adoption of Parent Empowerment regulations and the distribution of funding for the second year of beefed-up School Improvement Grants were among the items on a busy State Board of Education agenda last month, but the most significant issues may have been those dealing with charter schools.
Charter revocation regulations that were more than two years in development are now revised and circulated for public comment, and the State Board will consider any input received at its next meeting in November.
“Most of CSBA’s requested changes have been accepted” in the draft regulations, CSBA Senior Legislative Advocate Brian Rivas reported in a “This Just In from CSBA” vlog (video log). He remains concerned, however, that authorizers could be forced to wait for charter operators to address conditions that could put pupil health or safety at risk before the authorizers can respond.
“We’re going to continue to work with the Department of Education to make sure the process works smoothly and authorizers can act very swiftly when circumstances arise that warrant revocation,” Rivas said.
Rivas’ video also addresses charter renewal regulations, which are now headed back to the Office of Administrative Law for final adoption after CDE staffers determined that no relevant input was received following a public comment period.
“Unfortunately, these provisions include language that specifies that when a charter renewal petition is submitted and the authorizer fails to act within 60 days, the renewal request will be deemed automatically approved. CSBA objected to this provision but unfortunately it wasn’t changed, so districts need to prepare for these regulations to take effect,” Rivas said.
School Improvement Grants
On the School Improvement Grant program, CDE staff produced corrective action plans received from the 90 local educational agencies currently funded by the federal program, which is temporarily enhanced by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reform funding for selected schools targeted for increased student performance. The corrective action plans satisfy concerns about increased learning time and other conditions required under SIG by the U.S. Department of Education—concerns often driven at least in part by ambiguity in the federal regulations.
The State Board also agreed to pursue federal waivers offered for SIG schools whose grants are tied to teacher and principal evaluation systems. Many states have reported problems with developing and implementing new evaluation systems, part of larger SIG requirements that are considered models of the Obama administration’s broader education reform agenda.
Affected schools still must develop the evaluation systems this year and “at a minimum, pilot them for all teachers and principals no later than the 2012-13 school year,” according to a CDE staff report. “The piloted systems should be capable of being used for decisions regarding, for example, retention, promotion, compensation, and rewards, no later than the 2013-14 school year.”
Parent Empowerment
With no changes required following the latest public comment period on permanent regulations proposed to implement the Parent Empowerment Act, the State Board was able to formally adopt the regulations, clearing the way for final action by the OAL.
The law stirred considerable controversy when it was swiftly enacted as part of the state’s bid for federal Race to the Top grant funding in 2010. It allows parents or guardians of students in 75 underperforming schools to petition for the implementation of one of RTTT’s reform models, from adding instructional hours and making other modifications to shutting a school down. The proposed regulations in their current form reflect a consensus approach devised by CSBA and other stakeholders.
Easy link
The State Board of Education’s Sept. 7-8 agenda and staff reports