Charter School Program

1. Charter School Program U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement

2. NCLB and the Charter School Model • Accountability for Results • Flexibility and Local Control • Expanded Parental Options • Doing What Works

3. Opportunities for Charter Schools • Providing options for parents (and thus building “capacity” for school districts) • Creating new governance arrangements for schools in “corrective action” • Informing all of public education about results-based accountability

4. Charter Schools Program www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/cspguidance03.doc • The Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP) was first enacted in 1994, reauthorized in 1998 (The Charter School Expansion Act) and then again in 2001. • The Charter School Program (CSP) is authorized under Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 (formerly Title X, Part C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

5. The purpose of the Charter Schools Program (CSP) is to: To increase national understanding of the charter schools model and to expand the number of high quality charter schools available to students across the nation.

6. Charter School Program Funding Levels 1995 $6,000,000 1996 $18,000,000 1997 $51,000,000 1998 $80,000,000 1999 $100,000,000 2000 $145,000,000 2001 $190,000,000 2002 $200,000,000 2003 $200,000,000

7. "Charter public schools are a critically important part of the education landscape in this country . Thanks to charter schools, more parents have more choices than ever before, and these grants will help keep strong the charter school movement in the United States and, most important help, ensure that no child is left behind.” Secretary Rod Paige

8. Accountability for Charter Schools Sec. 1111(a)(2)(K) Accountability for Charter Schools . – The accountability provisions under this Act shall be overseen for charter schools in accordance with State charter schools law.

9. Accountability www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/charterguidance03.pdf Conference Report (107-334) Charter Schools are public schools and therefore subject to the same accountability requirements of this Act as they apply to other public schools, including Sections 1111 and 1116, as developed in each state. However, there is no intent to replace or duplicate the role of authorized chartering agencies, as established under each state’s charter school law, in overseeing the Act’s accountability requirements for the charter schools that they authorize.

10. Accountability Conference Report (107-334) cont’ Authorized chartering agencies should be held accountable for carrying out their oversight responsibilities as determined by each state through its charter school law and other applicable state laws. This should be done in ways that do not inhibit or discourage the approval or oversight of innovative, high quality charter schools.

11. TITLE I Empowering Parents www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/reportcardsguidance.doc No Child Left Behind…empowers parents like never before by requiring LEAs to let parents know that they can ask for specific information about teacher qualifications: • State qualifications & licensing requirements; • Waivers issued for emergency or provisional status; • Educational background of teachers; and • Qualifications of paraprofessionals.

12. Public School Choice Title I section 1116(b)(E) www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/schoolchoiceguid.doc All students enrolled in Title 1 schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, or the planning year of restructuring are eligible to transfer to another public school, including a public charter school, that is not in school improvement.

13. Supplemental Services Title I, section 1116(e) www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc • Additional academic instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students in low-performing schools. These services may include academic assistance such as tutoring, remediation and other educational interventions. • Non-profit entities, for-profit entities, local educational agencies, public schools, public charter schools, private schools, public or private institutions of higher education, and faith-based organizations can serve as supplemental providers

14. Teacher Quality Title II, section 2101 www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/guidance.doc • The new Title II, Part A program focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers and principals. • Teachers who teach the core academic subjects (English, reading/language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography) must meet the new requirements by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

15. Highly Qualified Teachers in All Public Schools • All public elementary and secondary school teachers who teach a core academic subject must be: • Licensed by the state; and • Hold at least a bachelor’s degree; and • Demonstrate competence in their subject area.

16. Highly Qualified Teachers in Charter Schools Teachers of core academic subjects in charter schools must meet the same requirements that apply to public school teachers, including holding a four-year college degree; and demonstrating competence in the subject area in which they teach. However, a teacher in a charter school does not have to be licensed or certified by the state if the state does not require such certification or licensure.

17. Unsafe Schools Choice Option Title IX, section 9532 www.ed.gov/programs/dvpformula/guidance.doc This requires that students in unsafe situations be allowed to transfer to other safer, public schools. Specifically, transfers must be allowed for two reasons: (1) when a school is determined to be “persistently dangerous” and (2) when a student becomes the victim of a violent crime at a school.

18. NCLB OnLine ResourcesOffice of Innovation and Improvement www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/index.html The Office of Innovation and Improvement is a nimble, entrepreneurial arm of the U.S. Department of Education. It makes strategic investments in promising educational practices through grants to states, schools, and community organizations. It also leads the movement for greater parental options and information in education

19. NCLB Online Resources Office of Innovation and Improvement Portfolio of Innovation and Improvement Grants

20. NCLB OnLine Resources No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbreference/index.html NCLB OnLine Resources Religion and Public Schools Guidance Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html

21. NCLB OnLine Resources Access to High School Students and Information on Students Military Recruiters Policy Guidance - Access to High School Students and Information on Students by Military Recruiters www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht-10-09-02a.html NCLB OnLine Resources Title VII-B of the McKinney-Veto Homeless Assistance Act Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program www.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.doc

22. NCLB OnLine Resources PARAPROFESSIONALS Paraprofessional Guidance www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/paraguidance.pdf NCLB OnLine Resources Title I, Part C Education of Migratory Children Education of Migratory Children www.ed.gov/programs/mep/mepguidance2003.doc

23. NCLB Online Resources Equal Access to Public School Facilities Title IX, Sec. 9524: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no public elementary, public secondary school, local educational agency (LEA), state education agency (SEA) that has a designated open forum or a limited public forum and receives funding from the USDOE shall deny equal access or fair opportunity to meet, or discriminate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society.

24. Charter School Facility Financing Demonstration/ Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facility 2001 Grant Recipients • America's Charter School Corporation, 639 Granite Street, Suite 310, Braintree, Mass. 02184Contact: Lawrence W. O'Toole, 781-849-8420Award amount: $4,950,000 • Charter Schools Development Corporation, 1725 K Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20006Contact: Michelle Gelsino, 202-739-9579Award amount: $6,400,000 • Low Income Housing Fund, 1330 Broadway, Suite 600, Oakland, Calif. 94612-2505Contact: Tom Miller, 510-893-3811Award amount: $3 million • NCB Development Corporation, 1725 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20006Contact: Annie Donovan, 202-336-7677Award amount: $6,400,000 • Raza Development Fund, Inc., 111 W. Monroe, Suite 1610, Phoenix, Ariz. 85003Contact: Mark VanBrunt, 602-417-1402Award amount: $4,200,000

25. Charter School Facility Financing Demonstration/ Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facility 2001 Grant Recipients • Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, 75 Federal Street, Boston, MA Contact: Todd Rassiger , 617-330-2000 Award amount: $6,000,000 • Center for Community Self-Help, 301 West Main Street, Durham, N.C. Contact:  Marc Hunt, 828-253-5251 Award amount: $6,722,500 • NCB Development Corporation, 1725 Eye Street, N.W., Washington, DC Contact: Annie Donovan, 202-336-7677 Award amount: $6,000,000 • Local Initiatives Support Corporation, 733 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. Contact: Barbara Page, 212- 455-9884 Award amount: $6,000,000

26. Charter School Resources • USCharterschools Website www.uscharterschools.org • Charter Friends National Networkwww.charterfriends.org • Center for Education Reformwww.edreform.com • National Association of Charter School Authorizerswww.charterauthorizers.org • Thomas B. Fordham Foundation www.edexcellence.net • Education Commission of the Stateswww.ecs.org • Goldwater Institutewww.goldwaterinstitute.org • Mackinac Center for Public Policy www.mackinac.org • Black Alliance for Educational Options www.baeo.org • Education Leaders Councilwww.educationleaders.org • Nat’l Assoc. of State Directors of Special Educationwww.nasdse.org

27. Public Charter Schools and NCLB comments to: Dean Kern Director, Charter School Program Office of Innovation and Improvement U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland, SW 3E116 Washington, DC 20202 (202) 260-1882 dean.kern@ed.gov