Florida Administrative Code
6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
6A - State Board of Education
Chapter 6A-1 - FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Section 6A-1.099827 - Charter School Corrective Action and School Improvement Plans
Universal Citation: FL Admin Code R 6A-1.099827
Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Required Plans.
(a) A charter school that receives a school
grade of "D" or "F" pursuant to Section
1008.34(2),
F.S., must develop and submit a school improvement plan to its
sponsor.
(b) A charter school that
earns three (3) consecutive grades below a "C" must submit to its sponsor a
school improvement plan that includes one of the corrective actions listed in
subsection (6) of this rule.
(2) Notifications.
(a) Upon release of school grades the
Department of Education will publish a list of charter schools that meet the
criteria in subsection (1) of this rule. The list will be published at
http://www.fldoe.org/schools/schools-choice/charter-schools/. Upon publication
of the list by the Department of Education, a sponsor shall notify, in writing,
each charter school in its district that is required to appear before the
sponsor and submit a school improvement plan pursuant to subsection (1) of this
rule. The notification shall include the following:
1. The date, time, and location of the
publicly noticed meeting that the director and a representative of the Charter
School Governing Board shall appear before the sponsor. For the purposes of
this rule the term "Director" shall mean charter school director, principal,
chief executive officer or other management personnel with similar authority.
The appearance shall be no earlier than thirty (30) calendar days and no later
than ninety (90) calendar days after notification is received by the school,
2. The date by which the school
must submit its proposed school improvement plan to sponsor staff for review
which shall be no earlier than thirty (30) calendar days after notification is
received by school; and,
3. Whether
the school is required to select a corrective action pursuant to paragraph
(1)(b) of this rule.
(b)
Notifications may be delivered electronically with proof of
receipt.
(3) Appearances.
(a) Upon receipt of notification pursuant to
subsection (2) of this rule, the director and a representative of the governing
board shall appear before the sponsor at the publicly noticed
meeting.
(b) The director and
governing board representative shall present to the sponsor a school
improvement plan that includes, at a minimum, the components identified in
subsection (4) of this rule.
(4) School Improvement Plans.
(a) A charter school that receives a school
grade of "D" or "F", but is not subject to corrective action pursuant to
paragraph (1)(b) of this rule, shall submit to its sponsor a school improvement
plan that includes, at a minimum, the following components:
1. Mission statement of school,
2. Academic data for most recent three (3)
years, if available,
3. Student
achievement objectives included in the charter contract or most recent sponsor
approved school improvement plan,
4. Analysis of student performance data
including academic performance by each subgroup,
5. Detailed plan for addressing each
identified deficiency in student performance, including specific actions,
person responsible, resources needed, and timeline,
6. Identification of each component of
school's approved educational program that has not been implemented as
described in the school's approved charter application or charter contract,
7. Detailed plan for addressing
each identified deficiency noted in subparagraph (4)(a)6. of this rule,
including specific actions, person responsible, resources needed, and timeline,
8. Identification of other
barriers to student success, with a detailed plan for addressing each barrier
including specific actions, person responsible, resources needed, and timeline;
and,
9. Specific student
achievement outcomes to be achieved.
(b) A charter school that is subject to
corrective action pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) of this rule, shall submit to
its sponsor a school improvement plan that includes, at a minimum, each of the
components listed in paragraph (4)(a) of this rule, and the following:
1. Governing board resolution selecting one
of the corrective action options pursuant to subsection (6) of this rule,
2. A detailed implementation
timeline; and,
3. A charter school
may submit as part of its school improvement plan a request to waive the
requirement to implement a corrective action. The waiver request must include
information that demonstrates that the school is likely to improve a letter
grade if additional time is provided to implement the strategies included in
the school improvement plan.
(c) A charter school subject to the school
improvement measures in paragraph (4)(a) or (4)(b) must develop and implement
procedures to seek and consider input from the school community or other
stakeholders during the development and implementation of a school improvement
plan.
(5) Approvals.
(a) A sponsor shall approve or deny a school
improvement plan submitted pursuant to subsection (4) of this rule. The sponsor
shall notify the charter school in writing within ten (10) calendar days of its
decision to approve or deny the school improvement plan.
(b) A sponsor may deny a school improvement
plan if it does not comply with subsection (4) of this rule. If denied, the
sponsor shall provide the charter school, in writing, the specific reasons for
denial and the timeline for resubmission.
(c) A charter school or sponsor may request
mediation pursuant to Section
1002.33(6),
F.S., if the parties cannot agree on a school improvement
plan.
(6) Corrective Actions.
(a) Upon meeting one of the
conditions in paragraph (1)(b) of this rule, and receiving notification
pursuant to subsection (2) of this rule, a charter school governing board shall
select one of the following corrective actions for implementation the following
school year:
1. Contract for educational
services to be provided directly to students, instructional personnel, and
school administrators. The charter school may select an Education Management
Organization or Academic Management Organization to provide services to charter
school students, teachers, and administrators, including services such as, but
not limited to, instructional coaching, curriculum review and alignment, and
data literacy,
2. Contract with an
outside entity that has a demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the
school,
3. Reorganize the school
under a new director or principal who is authorized to hire new staff,
4. Voluntarily
close.
(b) The selection
of the corrective action shall be made by the governing board and is not
subject to sponsor approval.
(c) A
charter school is no longer required to implement a corrective action if it
improves to a "C" or higher, but must continue to implement the strategies
identified in the school improvement plan.
(d) A charter school implementing a
corrective action that does not improve to a "C" or higher after two (2) full
school years of implementation must select a different corrective action to be
implemented in the next school year unless the sponsor determines that the
charter school is likely to improve a letter grade if additional time is
provided.
(7) Monitoring.
(a) Sponsors shall monitor the implementation
of school improvement plans.
(b)
Annually, the sponsor shall notify, in writing, each charter school
implementing a school improvement plan of the requirement to appear before the
sponsor to present information regarding the progress of the approved school
improvement plan. The notification shall include the date, time, and location
of the publicly noticed meeting at which the director and a representative of
the charter school shall appear.
(8) Waivers of Termination.
(a) The State Board of Education may waive
termination for a charter school that has received two (2) consecutive grades
of "F" if the charter school demonstrates that the learning gains of its
students on statewide assessments are comparable to or better than the learning
gains of similarly situated students enrolled in nearby district public
schools. The waiver is valid for one (1) year and may only be granted
once.
(b) No later than fifteen
(15) days after the Department's official release of school grades, the
governing board of a charter school that has received two (2) consecutive
grades of "F" may submit a request to the State Board of Education for a waiver
of termination. Charter schools that have been in operation for more than five
(5) years are not eligible for a waiver.
(c) The charter school shall submit ten (10)
hard copies of the waiver request to the Agency Clerk for the Department of
Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 1520, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-0400.
(d) The charter school
shall certify that it has provided the district school board a copy of the
waiver request as provided herein by filing a certificate of service with the
Agency Clerk stating the person and address to which the copy was provided and
the date of mailing or other transmittal.
(e) The waiver request shall not exceed five
(5) pages. Information provided beyond the five (5) page maximum will not be
discussed nor considered by the State Board of Education. The waiver request
shall be on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, double spaced, except quoted material and
footnotes. Typewritten text, including footnotes must be no smaller than ten
(10) pitch spacing, and there must be no more than twenty-six (26) lines of
text per paper. Margins shall be no less than one (1) inch at the top, bottom,
left and right.
(f) The waiver
request must include the name of the school, the Master School Identification
Number, and the physical address of the school. The waiver request must be
signed by the chair of the charter school governing board and include a
certification that the governing board voted at a duly noticed public meeting
to support the submission of the waiver request.
(g) In determining whether to grant a waiver
the State Board of Education shall review student achievement data provided by
the Department of Education and shall provide such data to the charter school
and the sponsor no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the State Board
meeting at which the waiver request is to be considered. Analysis of student
learning gains data must be based on comparisons between students enrolled in
the charter school and similarly situated students enrolled in nearby district
public schools and may include such factors as prior performance on state
assessments, disability status, and English language learner status. Nearby
district public schools shall include the three (3) geographically closest
district public schools with similarly situated students. If three such schools
do not exist within the school district the comparison may include less than
three.
(h) The State Board of
Education shall approve or deny the request.
(i) The filing of a timely waiver request
under this rule that complies with the requirements in paragraphs (8)(b), (d)
and (f) of this rule shall automatically stay any pending termination of the
charter school requesting the waiver until such time as the State Board of
Education has ruled on the waiver request.
Rulemaking Authority 1002.33 FS. Law Implemented 1002.33(9) FS.
New 8-21-12, Amended 10-22-13, 12-20-16, 10-17-17, 11-21-23.
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