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The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Charter Schools - Authorizing Activities for 2016-2017

To:
Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
From:
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner
Date:
September 16, 2016

Between now and June 2017, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) will be asked to take a significant number of votes related to its statutory role as a charter school authorizer. As I have done in past years, I am providing you with this memorandum summarizing the statutory framework for charter schools and the Board's responsibilities as the state's sole charter school authorizer, along with other related updates and a tentative schedule of charter school authorizing agenda items for the year.

Legal Framework

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of traditional school districts. Across the nation, states with charter school programs have one or more charter authorizers including local school districts, municipal governments, universities, non-profit organizations, and state education agencies. In Massachusetts, the Board is the sole authorizer of charter schools.

Charter schools were first introduced to Massachusetts as part of the 1993 education reform law in G.L. c. 71, § 89, the charter school statute. The charter school statute specifies that the purposes of charter schools are:

  1. to stimulate the development of innovative programs within public education;
  2. to provide opportunities for innovative learning and assessments;
  3. to provide parents and students with greater options in choosing schools within and outside their school districts;
  4. to provide teachers with a vehicle for establishing schools with alternative, innovative methods of educational instruction and school structure and management;
  5. to encourage performance-based educational programs;
  6. to hold teachers and school administrators accountable for students' educational outcomes; and
  7. to provide models for replication in other public schools.

Massachusetts has two types of charter schools, Commonwealth and Horace Mann. There are currently 69 Commonwealth charter schools and 9 Horace Mann charter schools in operation, serving more than 43,650 students. The updated Charter School Fact Sheet Download Excel Document is attached to this memorandum for your convenience.

Commonwealth charter schools are governed by boards of trustees, are completely independent of local districts, can draw students from many districts, and are funded by tuition payments from the sending districts based upon the number of district students attending the school. The charter school statute provides for partial reimbursement to school districts for tuition payments to Commonwealth charter schools. Currently Massachusetts has 69 Commonwealth charter schools.

Horace Mann charter schools also are governed by boards of trustees and operate independently of school committees. Horace Mann charter schools, however, have a closer relationship with the local district. The local school committee and, in some cases, the local teachers' union, must approve the establishment of Horace Mann charter schools; the district must equitably fund the school; and typically the district provides some central administrative services. Currently Massachusetts has 9 Horace Mann charter schools.

Board's Responsibilities

As the sole charter school authorizer in Massachusetts, the Board is responsible for:

When deficiencies are noted, the Board has a range of actions it can take, including imposing conditions on a charter, placing a school on probation, and revoking or not renewing a school's charter.

Commissioner's Responsibilities

The Commissioner is responsible for making recommendations to the Board and providing the Board with the information needed to make well-informed decisions. The regulations authorize the Commissioner, as well as the Board, to impose or to remove conditions on a charter for specific reasons. In practice, the Commissioner notifies the Board before taking any action about conditions, and if the situation is serious enough to warrant probation with conditions, that decision rests with the Board. Pursuant to the regulations at 603 CMR 1.10(2), the Commissioner is also responsible for granting the following amendments to the material terms of a school's charter:

At the recommendation of the Board's Charter School Committee, in February 2013, the Board also delegated to the Commissioner the authority to renew charters, including renewing charters with conditions, provided such renewals do not involve probation. This delegation requires the Commissioner to notify Board members in advance of intended actions and to permit Board members to request that the Commissioner place the matter before the full Board for discussion and action. As stated above, the Board continues to award new charters; to place a school on probation; to revoke or not to renew charters; to approve contractual relationships with education management organizations; and to grant charter amendments that change a school's grade span, maximum student enrollment, and the districts specified in the school's charter.

Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign

The Department's Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign is the unit in the Center for Educational Options that provides staff support to the Commissioner and the Board with respect to charter authorizing actions, innovation schools, expanded learning time, and other school redesign initiatives. The mission of the office is to support and oversee the creation and sustainability of a variety of high quality public school options-including those that innovate in the areas of instructional practice, time, resources, and technology-to ensure that all students in the Commonwealth have equitable access to a pathway to success after high school.

Charter School Initiatives

In addition to the ongoing work related to charter authorizing actions, the Department continues to advance priorities related to access and equity. In the spring of 2013, the Department explicitly incorporated expectations regarding access and equity within the Charter School Performance Criteria and launched a variety of access and equity initiatives summarized in memoranda to the Board on October 10, 2014, and June 12, 2015.

This year, the Department continues to facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and continues to support sustainable use of redesigned school models in order to close proficiency and opportunity gaps, particularly in Boston and Gateway Cities 1. The Department will invite charter, Expanded Learning Time, turnaround, innovation, and traditional district schools to a conference in November 2016 regarding successful school models and practices. Additionally, the Department has updated its webpage to provide new guides and resources for successful dissemination of best or promising practices.

The Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign continues to engage charter schools in a data-based conversation focused on student discipline practices, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association and the Department's Office of Student and Family Support. Ten charter schools have joined the Department's professional learning network with the goal of reducing the use of suspension.

Tentative Schedule of Charter School Authorizing Agenda Items for 2016-2017

Attached for your information is the Tentative Schedule of Charter School Items for September 2016 through June 2017, with information regarding requests for charter amendments that are pending and charter renewal decisions that may require Board approval. The tentative schedule will be updated during the year, as needed.

Public Hearings on Charter Applications

The charter school statute requires the Board to hold a public hearing in each city or town where a charter school has been proposed, with at least one Board member attending each hearing. These hearings usually occur in November and December. As we have done in the past, we will ask for two Board members to volunteer for each hearing, so that backup is available in the event of an unexpected last-minute absence. The members who attend each hearing report back to the full Board when the final applications are discussed in February. I will be in contact with each of you regarding the hearings as soon as the schedule is finalized.

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If you have any questions regarding these matters or require additional information, please contact Alison Bagg, Director of Charter School and School Redesign (781-338-3218); Cliff Chuang, Senior Associate Commissioner for Educational Options (781-338-3222); or me.

Attachments:

View HTML Page
Charter School Fact Sheet

Download Word Document
Tentative Schedule of Charter School Authorizing Agenda Items for 2016-2017
Charter Amendment Requests Pending Board Action
Charter Renewals