Section 1: The Charter Agreement
- Charter Agreement vs. Charter Application: Which is which? Why are they important?
- The Charter Application is the document that was submitted by the founding board of the school to be reviewed and eventually approved by the Charter Schools Review Board and/or State Board of Education. It is unique to each charter school and contains all the information about what makes your school special: Your Name, Curriculum, Instructional Philosophy, Grade Levels Served, Location, etc. Charter Applications can be amended with board approval, and sometimes require the Office of Charter Schools approval or Charter Schools Review Board approval.
- The Charter Agreement is the legal document signed by both the school’s Board Chair and the State Superintendent. It is effective for only a specific period of time, listed under the “Term”. Your Charter Agreement gives your board the authority to operate your school as a Public Charter School in North Carolina. Charter Agreements must be renewed before the termination of the agreement in order for your school to continue operating.
- What’s a PSU?
- Article 1 of Chapter 115C-5 of North Carolina General Statues defines Public School Unit as any of the following:
- A local school administrative unit.
- A charter school.
- A regional school.
- A school providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by The University of North Carolina under Article 29A of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.
- Schools for the deaf and blind operated under Article 9C of this Chapter.
- When reviewing NC State Law and SBE Policy, Charter Board members should note that if the legislation or policy states “Public School Unit”, it applies to Charter Schools. If the legislation says “Local School Administrative Unit” it is referring to the traditional public school district.
Section 2: Fiscal Oversight
- Legislative Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Expenditures of State and Federal financial assistance, including State financial assistance from Federal sources, shall be in accordance with the cost principles outlined in 2 C.F.R., Part 200.09 NCAC 03M.0201.
- The Nonprofit and its employees or contractors shall use and expend State funds only for the purposes for which they were appropriated by the General Assembly. State funds include federal funds that flow through the State Treasury. G.S. 143C-6-22(a)
- What questions can I ask the school leader, finance officer, and/or accounting firm to ensure the legislative requirements above are being met?
- What internal controls are in place to ensure State and Federal funds are being used only for the purposes for which they were appropriated?
- What checks and balances are in place for preventing non-allowable expenditures?
Charter School Fiscal Governance; presented by OCS director, Ashley Baquero
On July 25th, OCS Director Ashley Baquero presented the following at the NC DPI School Finance & Business Summer Conference:
Charter School Fiscal Governance
Section 3: Governance Tips & Tricks
- Did you know…….
- The majority of board members and 50% or greater of the board officers for a charter school must have their primary residence in NC?
- The Nonprofit board of directors shall adopt and ensure compliance with a conflict of interest and anti-nepotism policy?
- The nonprofit board of a Charter School is subject to Open Meetings law as outlined in Article 33C of Chapter 143 of General Statutes. This includes but is not limited to:
- All official meetings are open to the public.
- Full and accurate minutes of all official meetings shall be made available to the public. Posting board meeting minutes on the school’s website is considered best practice.
- Closed session minutes may be withheld from public inspection so long as public inspection would frustrate the purpose of the closed session.
- Closed session may be held upon a motion duly made and adopted at an open meeting. Every motion to close a meeting shall cite one or more of the permissible purposes listed in subsection (a) of 143-319.11.
- Public notice of official meetings shall be in accordance with 143-318.12 which includes providing written notice of the meeting stating its purpose delivered at least 48 hours before the time of the meeting.
- If the school has a Web site, and the board has established a schedule of regular meetings, the board shall post the schedule of regular meetings to the Web site.
Section 4: Academic Monitoring
- Children w/Special Needs
- The Nonprofit accepts and understands that for purposes of federal and state law, it is obligated to provide free and appropriate education and related services to children with special needs.
- The Nonprofit shall be responsible for meeting the needs of English language learners in compliance with State and Federal Law.
- What questions can I ask when the school leader is presenting academic information?
- What is the plan of action for students who are struggling academically and those who are excelling and need to be challenged?
- Do teachers have adequate time to analyze student data? If not, why not. If so, how is the data used to move academic achievement forward?
- Are students aware of how they are doing academically? If not, why not? If so, how do they hold themselves accountable for improving?
- Based on the data, what are the projected proficiency levels for EOG, EOC, and/or end of the year benchmark assessments?
Section 5: Operations
- Enrollment, Charter Agreement, Section 7
- Key Enrollment Provisions
- Admission must follow Charter School Act and lottery requirements (G.S. 115C-218.45)
- Charter Schools cannot limit admission based on:
- Intellectual ability
- Achievement or aptitude
- Athletic ability
- Disability
- Race, creed, national origin, religion, ancestry
- Sex (except for schools with approved single-sex mission)
- Reporting Requirements
- School must report student details to the State Board of Education, provide student information to local boards of education by September 1 or following the 20th day ADM as well as notify local boards when students withdraw
- Enrollment Expansion Rules
- Charter Schools can increase maximum enrollment:
- During second year of operation
- After three years, can expand grade levels if meeting performance criteria
- If a school is low-performing it must be approved by the Review Board in order to grow by more than 20% of the previous year's enrollment.
- Enrollment increases not allowed in statute must be submitted to the Office of Charter Schools and approved by the CSRB or SBE.
- Charter Schools are permitted to offer one grade higher or lower than the charter school currently serves if the school has operated for 3 years, is not identified as continually low-performing, and is in financial compliance.
- Fees, Charter Agreement, Section 17
- Charter Schools shall not charge tuition or fees, except that the school may charge any fees that are charged by the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located.
- Contact the local school administrative unit or review the local school’s board meeting minutes to see what fees have been approved in that district.
Section 6: Resources & Professional Development
Educational Directory and Demographical Information Exchange (EDDIE) Reminder.
IMPORTANT REMINDER – Please be sure your team is staying current with any changes to key staff contacts listed in EDDIE throughout the year.
EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used by multiple NCDPI technology systems including: Accountability, PowerSchool, NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements. LEAs and charter schools are responsible for ensuring their data in EDDIE are complete, accurate, and current. EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie
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