Charter School F.A.Q.    |
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This information is provided by the Public Education Department, and is subject to change. General Information: What are charter schools? Who can open a charter school? Who approves charter schools? What options are available for schools that want to become charter schools? What is the length of a school's charter? Is there a limit on the number of charter schools that can be opened in a district or a year? How long should the application conceptual design process take? How often should I be in contact with the district? Are charter schools a part of a district or their own district? Who is ultimately responsible for the charter school? Who do I contact at the Public Education Department? Who else can I contact for assistance? Is there state funding for planning? When are charter schools eligible for state funding? How do charter schools get funded? Are charter schools eligible for federal funds? How is the charter school managed? Do charter schools have to be accredited? How are charter schools held accountable? Can a charter school restrict enrollment? Can a charter school limit the number of students they accept? What types of teachers work at charter schools? What if charter schools do not increase student achievement? Do charter schools have to provide transportation? Can charter schools serve only certain populations? Do charter schools have to provide special education services? Who hires the staff? Do charter schools have to be in public buildings? Are there any exceptions to the public building requirement? What about charter schools that are approved or renewed before July 1, 2010? Application Process: Do I have to notify the school district when I am applying for a charter school? Can a charter school applicant hire an outside consultant to assist in the writing of the charter? Is technical assistance available for a charter school applicant? Are there any funds available from the State during the charter school application process? What funds does a charter school receive when the charter school application is approved? Funding: When does the charter school receive state funds? How are state funds determined? Enrollment/Lottery: Can a charter school serve home school students? Can a charter school accept students into grades not listed in their charter or before the grades are to be added? Can a charter school place a deadline on parents for re-enrolling students each year? Does a charter school have to provide the names of its students to the local school district? Is there a specific process that must be followed for the lottery? Charter School Length: How long is a charter approved for? When a charter is approved, when can it open? Can you add a grade at any time to your charter or do you have to amend the charter? Governance: Is the Governance Council the same as the Local School Board? Does the Governance Council run the charter school? To whom is the Governance council and the charter school accountable? Can a governance council of a charter school incorporate? Personnel: Will the changes in HB 212 regarding who hires and terminates staff affect charter schools? Are the charter schools required to follow the new licensure requirements? Can all charter school personnel be contract employees rather than employees of the charter school? Facility: Is a charter school applicant required to have a facility in place as part of their application? Can State Stimulus Funds be used for renovating or remodeling a privately owned facility? Is a school district that has a building required to provide that building to the charter school? Can the Public Education Department intervene on behalf of the charter school to obtain a district facility? Does a charter school have access to any district capital outlay funds? Can a charter school request a State Legislator to carry a "pork" bill for them for funds for capital outlay? Federal and State Laws: Can charter school students participate in district extracurricular activities? Will No Child Left Behind (NCLB) affect charter schools? Are students in a charter school required to participate in the statewide mandated testing (accountability system) program? Do charter schools have to produce a School Report Card? Are charter schools eligible for other Federal funds? Is a charter school accredited? General Information: What are charter schools? Charter schools are tuition- free public schools open to all students. Often founded by educators and community leaders, they operate in a semi-autonomous manner from local school districts and in ways very different from conventional public schools. Who can open a charter school? A charter school can be opened by one or more parents, teachers, community members or a non-profit organization. Who approves charter schools? In NM, charter schools may be approved by either the local school district board of education or the NM Public Education Commission. What options are available for schools that want to become charter schools? An existing public school that is in Restructuring II, under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, may convert to a charter school. What is the length of a school's charter? The initial charter given to a charter school can be for six years, as long as the first year is used as a planning year. Otherwise the initial approval is for five years. Charter renewals are for a five-year period. Is there a limit on the number of charter schools that can be opened in a district or a year? Charter School Legislation (Senate Bill 600) states that up to 15 start-up schools can be opened each year for a maximum of 75 start-up schools in any five year period. In school districts with less than 1,000 students, a charter school may only enroll 10% or less of all students residing in the district. How long should the application conceptual design process take? To render the highest quality charter application, the Coalition recommends that at least 8-12 months be spent on the design of your charter school. Frequently, much longer is needed in order to build consensus among your founding members and develop a relationship with your other key stakeholders. How often should I be in contact with the district? You are encouraged to be in contact with your local school district/superintendent frequently, especially if you plan to charter through the local school board. Are charter schools a part of a district or their own district? In New Mexico, locally-chartered charter schools are considered part of the school district in which they open. State-chartered charter schools are considered an LEA, but with some limitations. Who is ultimately responsible for the charter school? The governing body of the charter school is held responsible for all aspects of the school. In addition, the authorizer has some responsibility to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Who do I contact at the Public Education Department? Dr. Don Duran, Assistant Secretary, Charter Schools Division, NM Public Education Department, (505) 222-4765. Who else can I contact for assistance? The staff of the New Mexico Coalition for Pubic Charter Schools is also available to provide technical assistance to charter school applicants at (505) 842-8203 or info@ nmccs.org. Is there state funding for planning? No. When are charter schools eligible for state funding? Charter schools are eligible for state funding upon approval by the authorizer. The charter school can apply one-time only for state stimulus funds upon approval. The charter school must submit a competitive application to apply for these funds. These funds have specific uses and if the charter school does not open within 18 months of receiving these funds, the school must repay the PED. The charter school becomes eligible to receive Operational/State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) monies beginning on July 1st, of the year in which the school opens. These funds are based upon the number of students who are enrolled in the charter school. How do charter schools get funded? Charter schools are funded in the same as any other public school. The students who attend the school generate State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funds at the current unit value, less 2% which goes to the authorizer for administrative fees. However, if a charter school has more than one site all sites are considered as one charter school for funding purposes. Most charter schools do not receive an equitable share of local taxpayer funds for facility needs. Are charter schools eligible for federal funds? Yes. As public schools, charter schools are eligible for the federal funds for which their students qualify. The charter school must apply for these federal funds through their sponsoring district or directly, if they are chartered through the state. How is the charter school managed? The charter school has a Governance Council made up of parents, teachers, and community members that develop and adopt policies and make decisions about the management of the school. A member of one governance council cannot be a member of another governance council. Do charter schools have to be accredited? Yes. Charter schools, like all public schools, are accredited by the Secretary of Education. How are charter schools held accountable? Charter schools have several different layers of accountability. Charter schools are first and foremost accountable to the students, parents and community they serve. They are also accountable to their authorizer for ensuring compliance with applicable rules, laws and charter provisions. Finally, they are accountable to tax payers as a public school. They participate in state-mandated testing, must employ licensed teachers, principals and business managers and participate in the yearly School Report Card. Can a charter school restrict enrollment? No. Every student has equal opportunity to enroll in the charter school. Can a charter school limit the number of students they accept? Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis or through a lottery up to the number of students specified in their charter (if more students apply then there is room). Students over and above the maximum student number re put on a waiting list. What types of teachers work at charter schools? Although the charter school can hire its own employees, these employees must meet the requirements of the School Personnel Act. All teachers working at a charter school must hold appropriate licenses and certifications and be highly-qualified pursuant to NCLB. What if charter schools do not increase student achievement? If charter schools do not show increased student achievement within the five years of their charter, the authorizer may not renew a school’s charter. Do charter schools have to provide transportation? According to the law, the charter school shall negotiate with the local school district for transportation services. However, there is no requirement for charter schools to provide transportation to their students, except as indicated in a special education Individualized Education Program (IEP). Can charter schools serve only certain populations? No. As public schools, charter schools are open to all students who may choose to attend. Charter schools are mission-driven schools, and each one offers a unique program and approach, so be sure to visit the charter school to make sure it is the best school for your child. Do charter schools have to provide special education services? Yes. As public schools, charter schools must provide a free and appropriate education to all students, including those with special needs. Who hires the staff? The charter school principal is responsible for hiring all staff. The staff hiring process and criteria for employment is specified in the charter. Do charter schools have to be in public buildings? Charter schools have to be in public buildings by July 1, 2010. A public building includes district buildings, city, state, federal, or tribal buildings also. The charter school is not required to accept a public building if available if it does not meet the programmatic needs of its charter. Are there any exceptions to the public building requirement? Yes. If there are no public buildings available within the district, then the charter can remain in a privately owned building under two conditions: (1) the building's owner is willing to maintain the building according to E (educational adequacy) standards at no cost to the district or school; or (2) the building is owned by a non-profit that is also willing to maintain the building to standards at no additional cost to the district or charter. What about charter schools that are approved or renewed before July 1, 2010? Beginning in July 1, 2005, all charter schools newly approved or renewed have to meet E (educational adequacy) standards and be working towards getting into a public building by July 1, 2010. Application Process: Do I have to notify the school district when I am applying for a charter school? Yes. All applicants are required to file a Letter of Intent on or before January 2 of the year they intend to submit a charter application. The Letter of Intent must be sent to both the Public Education Commission and the local school district where the charter school may be located. Can a charter school applicant hire an outside consultant to assist in the writing of the charter? Yes. A charter school applicant can hire an outside consultant to assist them in writing the charter school application. It is important, however, for the charter applicant to understand that the consultant must be familiar with all the New Mexico law and regulation requirements for writing a comprehensive charter application. Ignorance of the law and the requirements may prevent the application from being denied. All applicants must utilize the approved PED application, found on the New Mexico PED website. Is technical assistance available for a charter school applicant? Yes. Staff from the Coalition for Charter Schools is available to provide technical assistance and answer questions relative to the application process. The staff can also provide examples of approved charter applications and assistance on some of the documentation required. Are there any funds available from the State during the charter school application process? No. A charter school applicant is not eligible for any State or Federal charter school funds until the charter application is approved. What funds does a charter school receive when the charter school application is approved? An applicant with an approved charter school application is eligible for both State Stimulus funds and Federal charter school grant funds prior to the school opening. The Public Education Department, Charter Schools Bureau will provide information and applications to the charter applicant upon receipt of documentation from the district that the charter application was approved by the local school board. Funding: When does the charter school receive State funds? An approved charter school will not receive state funds until the year in which the school opens. If the school is scheduled to open in July/August of a particular year, then the school will begin to receive funds for the number of students projected in July of that same year. How are state funds determined? In the initial year of a charter school, the state funds are based upon a projected number of students that the charter school plans to enroll (current year funds). Once the school opens and the number of students enrolled is finalized on the school's 40th day, the budget is adjusted either up or down to reflect actual numbers. In subsequent years, the charter school is funded on the average of its 40th, 80th and 120th day of student membership for the grades that they had the previous year and the projected number of students for the grades that they will add each year (only if they add a new grade, not if they increase the number of students that are enrolling in a grade that the school had the previous year). Enrollment/Lottery: Can a charter school serve home school students? No. Home school students can not remain home school students and complete the work from a charter school. The home school students must enroll in the public charter school and attend the required amount of time in order for the school to be funded for those students. Can a charter school accept students into grades not listed in their charter or before the grades are to be added? No. The charter school application is a contract between the authorizer and the charter school. If a charter school wants to add grades not listed in the original charter application or add students to grades before they are stated to be added, the charter school must amend their application and get approval from its authorizer. Can a charter school place a deadline on parents for re-enrolling students each year? No. Once a child is admitted to the charter school and attends the charter school, the school cannot place a deadline on parents who want to re-enroll their child for the next school year, so that the charter school can admit new students. Does a charter school have to provide the names of its students to the local school district? Yes. The names of the students that enroll in a charter school is public information and has to be provided to the school district, so that they can make plans for the coming year and the loss of students/funding to the district. Is there a specific process that must be followed for the lottery? Yes. The charter school must provide ample notification of when names can be submitted for the lottery process. If a parent submits a name of a student for the lottery there is no guarantee that the students will be accepted. All names submitted for a lottery are given a corresponding number and placed in a container. At the end of any enrollment period, the numbers are drawn from the container and matched to the names of the students. These students are then accepted into the school in the appropriate grade level (a charter school can limit enrollment by grade ONLY). Once the grade is full all other names go onto a waiting list. Names are pulled off the waiting list as openings at a particular grade occur. Once students get onto the waiting list they remain on that waiting list until their name is selected. The students on the waiting list do not go back into the lottery each time it is conducted. Once a student is admitted through the lottery process they are considered enrolled in that school for every year they remain in attendance at that school. Beginning in the second year of operation, siblings of students already enrolled and currently attending the charter school are given preference for enrolling without going through the lottery. State law prohibits other enrollment preferences, including children of founders, governance council members, or teachers. Charter School Length: How long is a charter approved for? Authorizers have the ability to approve a charter for six years, as long as the first year is used as a planning year by the charter school. When a charter is approved, when can it open? The deadline to submit charter applications is July 1 of the year prior to its opening. So if you apply for a charter by July 1, 2009 (for example), you can open your school as early as July 2010. Can you add a grade at any time to your charter or do you have to amend the charter? In your initial charter school application, you should indicate all the grades that the school will have regardless of when the grades are added. A charter school can state that it will be a K-6 charter school or a 6-12 charter school and add one or more grades per year until it hits its maximum grades. If you do not include the number of grades in your initial charter application and want to add more grades after your charter has been approved, you will have to amend your charter and go back to the district for that approval. Adding grades to a charter school will impact the sponsoring district financially, and does need to have the district's approval. Governance: Is the Governance Council the same as the Local School Board? No. There is only one local school board in the school district. The governance council of a charter school is not the same as the local school board, and is not elected in the same manner. The governance council sets policy, approves the budget, and monitors eh progress the charter school makes towards attaining the performance goals outlined in the approved charter application. The governance council of the charter school is accountable to the school community it serves, the school’s authorizer and the Public Education Department. Does the Governance Council run the charter school? No. The governance council delegates the daily operations of the charter school to the principal. Governance council members must take care to not micro-manage the school. To whom is the Governance council and the charter school accountable? The governance council and the charter school director/principal etc. are accountable to the school district superintendent. The school district superintendent is the representative of the local school board and is the person that the charter school must maintain contact with in regards to providing information and updates to the local school board. Can a governance council of a charter school incorporate? No. Article IX, Section 14 of the New Mexico Constitution essentially prohibits the use of public funds by a public body unless made pursuant to a budget prepared and approved according to state law. A charter school is a public school existing within a public school district (NMSA 1978, section 22-8B-2). Moreover, Article XII, Section 3 of the State Constitution provides that public schools must stay under the exclusive control of the state and that educational funds cannot be used for, among other things, a private school. The Public Education Department takes the position that a charter school that incorporates is essentially a private school. In addition, if a charter school organizes a separate “friends of the charter school” as a 501 © 3 not-for-profit organization, this non-profit must be separate from the charter schools. Funds raised by the non-profit can be given to the school but cannot have any requirements attached to it. The president or board member of the school’s non-profit has no authority over the charter school and no charter school staff member should be a board member of the “friends group”. Personnel: Will the changes in HB 212 regarding who hires and terminates staff affect charter schools? No. The charter application must include information regarding who hires and fires staff (e.g. the Governance Council or the administrator). If it is not specified in the4 application, then the Governance Council of the charter school retains the ability to hire and terminate staff at the charter school. The school administrator/CEO/leader will continue to make recommendations to the Governance Council on the hiring or termination/non-renewal of a contract. Are the charter schools required to follow the new licensure requirements? Yes. As a public school, a charter school faculty is required to meet the same licensure requirements as staff in any other public school. Can all charter school personnel be contract employees rather than employees of the charter school? No. The charter school must hire teaching staff as employees of the school utilizing the School Personnel Contract form. Other staff can be contractual employees. Facility: Is a charter school applicant required to have a facility in place as part of their application? No. But the applicant should address in general terms plans for what type of facility will be needed to meet the proposed education program of the charter. The plan should include ideas about possible sites, cost estimates for the remodeling or renovation of the site or a phase-in plan for construction. The charter application must include a statement that the building will meet E (educational occupancy) standards including all the fire, safety, health and construction codes and have a Certificate of Occupancy for use as a public school, prior to opening. A lease for a facility is not required in the charter application, because the charter school does not exist without formal approval by the authorizer. Can State Stimulus Funds be used for renovating or remodeling a privately owned facility? No. State money cannot be used to renovate or remodel a privately-owned facility (anti-donation clause of the State Constitution). The State Stimulus funds can be used to pay for a lease, if the owner of the building makes the changes and folds the cost into the lease of the building. Is a school district that has a building required to provide that building to the charter school? Yes. The school district shall provide a charter school with available facilities unless the facilities are currently being used for other educational purposes ( i.e. health clinics, daycare centers, teacher training centers, school district administrative functions and other ancillary services related to the school district's functions). Can the Public Education Department intervene on behalf of the charter school to obtain a district facility? No. The Public Education Department has no jurisdiction over the local school district in regards to the local school district providing the charter school with a facility. All facility issues are between the local school district and the charter school. Does a charter school have access to any district capital outlay funds? Yes. The charter school can request capital outlay funds in its application, but does not have access to school district capital outlay funds if the charter school will be located in a privately owned facility. The charter school can negotiate with the district for access to these funds. A charter school can request to receive their share of its district's SB 9 or HB 33 funds. Can a charter school request a State Legislator to carry a "pork" bill for them for funds for capital outlay? Yes. A charter school can approach a state legislator and request that they carry a bill for them to obtain funds for capital expenditures; however, if the funds are awarded to the charter schools, the district must accept these funds for the charter school. Federal and State Laws: Can charter school students participate in district extracurricular activities Yes. Senate Bill 789 states that charter school students can participate in extracurricular activities at the school where they live if they meet eligibility requirements with the exception of enrollment. Does the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) apply to charter schools? Yes. Charter schools are required to follow the requirements of NCLB the same as any other public school. Are students in a charter school required to participate in the statewide mandated testing (accountability system) program? Yes. All students who attend charter schools must participate in the statewide mandated testing. The criteria under the State's Accountability Plan will apply to all charter schools relative to rating, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and classification of schools. Do charter schools have to produce a School Report Card? Yes. Charter schools like all public schools must produce and publish a School Report Card. With the exception of the first year of operation of the charter school, the charter school will produce a School Report Card. The School Report Card provides data in five areas (standardized test results, attendance, drop out, school safety, and parent/community involvement) for the previous year of the school's existence. The School Report Card is due by November 15th of each year. The School Report Card is provided to the parents of the charter school students, the Public Education Department, the local school board and the newspaper. Are charter schools eligible for other Federal funds? Yes. Needs of charter school students must be included in the school district's application for all other federal funds for which the charter school has eligible students. The charter school must meet the same requirements for accessing federal funds as all other schools/students in the district. The charter school is only eligible for federal funds for students in their school that meet certain federal requirements for those funds. A school district cannot say that a charter school is not eligible for federal funds because they did not exist in the previous year when the application was completed. The district has to provide either funds or services to the charter school in the same manner as it does for its other schools. Is a charter school accredited? Yes. A charter school is covered under the accreditation status of its sponsoring district upon approval of its charter. For the first two years of operation a charter school receives "new school" accreditation status, as long as it meets all the statutory requirements. At the end of the charter school's second year, the school is rated and its accreditation status depends upon its particular rating. Accreditation rating is for one year and is renewable each year the same as any other public school. |
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