MALDEN - The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today invited the founders of two proposed Commonwealth charter schools to move to the next stage of the 2018-2019 charter school application process and submit a full application for the new charter schools that they have proposed.
 
In August 2018, three applicant groups submitted prospectuses in the hopes of opening a new charter school. The applicant groups invited to submit full applications are the proposed Equity Lab Charter School, which would be based in Lawrence and serve Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen; and the proposed Massachusetts Wildflower Montessori Public Charter School: Haverhill.
 
“I look forward to seeing the final applications, and I will consider both what is submitted by applicant groups and what we receive through public comment,” Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey C. Riley said.
 
Applicants may make changes to their proposal between the prospectus and final application stage. Final applications are due back to DESE by October 25, 2018. Once the agency receives the applications, DESE staff and external review panelists with expertise in education, business, law and governance will review and evaluate the proposals. In addition, DESE will hold public hearings in the areas where the founding groups propose to open a school, and DESE will also review any public comment submitted.
 
After reviewing all of the materials, Commissioner Riley will make his recommendation to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education if he believes one or both of the proposals should receive a charter. The Board will vote at its February 2019 meeting.
 
A summary of the proposals from the groups invited to submit final applications is as follows:

The Department will announce the schedule of public hearings on the proposals after receiving the full applications.
 
Commonwealth charter schools are fully autonomous and operate independently of the local school district. Charter schools are open to all Massachusetts students, with enrollment preference given to students in the district or region where the school is located. There are 82 operating charter schools in Massachusetts, and they collectively serve more than 45,000 students. For more information, visit Massachusetts Charter Schools.
 
The state’s charter school cap limits the amount of net school spending that a school district can spend on charter school tuition. No more than 9 percent of a district's net school spending may be allocated to charter school tuition, except in the state's lowest performing districts, where the cap on charter tuition is 18 percent. The proposals invited to the final application process would, if approved, create schools in communities that are currently below their caps.