Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
Monitoring in General.
(a) All
state charter schools will be annually monitored by the State Charter Schools
Commission of Georgia (SCSC) to review and evaluate and determine the charter
school's attainment of its performance goals and operational compliance, which
will include academic and financial performance as required by O.C.G.A. §
20-2-2083(b)(4).
(b) The results of SCSC monitoring will be
included in SCSC evaluations of state charter school performance under their
charter contracts and SCSC Comprehensive Performance Framework. The SCSC may
initiate termination proceedings pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
20-2-2068 and SCSC Rule
691-2-.04 based on the findings of its
monitoring activities.
(c) The SCSC
Comprehensive Performance Framework shall serve as the basis for academic,
financial, and organizational accountability. Regardless of the length of a
school's charter term, the SCSC shall review each state charter school's
results under the SCSC Comprehensive Performance Framework every five years and
impose meaningful consequences if the state charter school fails to
consistently meet expectations under the SCSC Comprehensive Performance
Framework. The SCSC may initiate termination proceedings pursuant to O.C.G.A.
§
20-2-2068 and SCSC Rule 691-2-.04 if the state charter school fails to
consistently meet expectations under the SCSC Comprehensive Performance
Framework.
(d) The SCSC staff shall
prepare an annual report for the SCSC chairperson that includes details
regarding each state charter school's academic performance and operational
compliance.
(2)
Academic Performance.
(a) The
SCSC staff shall monitor student performance data for each state charter school
to determine the school's progress towards meeting the performance goals
outlined in the charter.
(b) Each
state charter school must participate in Georgia's Single Statewide
Accountability System (SSAS) as required by federal and state law, and SCSC
staff shall review each state charter school's annual determinations under the
SSAS.
(c) SCSC staff shall notify a
charter school in writing if state charter school is materially noncompliant in
meeting the performance goals of its charter. Failure of a state charter school
to remedy or make progress towards meeting its performance grounds may be
grounds for termination of the charter as provided in SCSC Rule
691-2-.04.
(d) The SCSC staff shall include data
regarding each state charter school's academic performance, attainment of
performance goals, and SSAS determinations in its annual performance
report.
(3)
Operational Compliance.
(a) The
SCSC staff shall monitor each state charter school for its compliance in
meeting the operational requirements of its charter and law. This shall
include, but not be limited to: the school's organizational goals as outlined
in its charter; financial performance; revenues and expenditures; financial
reporting and audit requirements; state and federal charter school laws, rules,
and regulations; and any other rule or law applicable to the state charter
school.
(b) SCSC staff shall notify
a charter school in writing if state charter school is materially noncompliant
in meeting the operational requirements of its charter. Failure of a state
charter school to remedy operational noncompliance may be grounds for
termination of the charter as provided in rule
691-2-.04.
(c) The SCSC staff shall detail each state
charter school's operational compliance or noncompliance in its annual
performance report.
(4)
Required Training.
(a) In
accordance with O.C.G.A. §
20-2-2084(f), all
members of the governing board for each state charter school shall complete
annual governance training.
(b) All
members of a governing board for a state charter school must complete initial
governance training within the fiscal year in which the SCSC approved the
school's charter petition by attending governance training provided by SCSC
staff.
(c) In fiscal years
subsequent to the year in which a state charter school's petition is approved,
members of governing boards for state charter schools may fulfill annual
training requirements by attending governance trainings provided by SCSC staff
or through a training provider approved by the State Board of Education to
provide governance trainings to charter schools. For trainings provided by
training providers other than SCSC staff to be utilized to fulfill annual
governance training requirements, the topics and duration of the training must
be aligned training provided by SCSC staff. Each state charter school that
utilizes a training provider other than SCSC staff to meet its annual
governance training obligation must submit a written record of completion in a
form and manner determined by the SCSC that includes a signature from the
training provider certifying that the governing board member(s) attended the
trainings and that the topics and duration aligned with training provided by
SCSC staff. SCSC staff may require state charter schools that have not met
standards on the SCSC Comprehensive Performance Framework to attend governance
training provided by SCSC staff.
(d) The SCSC may require the members of a
state charter school governing board, members of a state charter school's
administration, or the faculty of a state charter school to attend
topic-specific trainings provided by the SCSC to address deficiencies in
performance or operational compliance of the charter school identified by the
SCSC.
(5)
Financial Reporting. Each state charter shall complete all
financial reporting obligations in a timely manner as required by law, rule, or
contract. Independent annual financial audits required by O.C.G.A. §
20-2-2065shall be completed by an
independent certified public accountant licensed in Georgia in a manner
consistent with Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and shall be submitted to
the SCSC no later than the first business day of November following the close
of the fiscal year being audited. In addition to all financial reporting for
state charter schools required by law, rule, or contract, a state charter
school that fails to meet its contractual financial performance goals may be
required to submit monthly financial reports to the SCSC Executive Director in
a form and manner provided by the SCSC Executive Director.
(6)
Record Inspection. Subject
to state and federal law, each state charter school shall allow the SCSC and
its staff access to all records, reports, documents, and files relating to any
activity, program, or student of the charter school for the purposes of
monitoring and evaluating the charter school's performance or
compliance.
(7)
Transparency
of Records. To promote transparency and monitoring, each state charter
school shall employ an online school website and ensure that the following
information, at a minimum, is easily accessible on the school's website:
(a) Governing Board membership;
(b) Governing Board meeting
calendar;
(c) Meeting agendas for
upcoming Governing Board meetings;
(d) Meeting minutes for past Governing Board
meetings unless the Georgia Open Meetings Act limits their
publication;
(e) Procedure for
contacting the school's Governing Board;
(f) Procedure for contacting the school's
most senior school administrator;
(g) Any admissions application utilized by
the school;
(h) Notification of
enrollment and admission procedures required by SCSC Rule
691-2-.05, including the date, time,
and location of any upcoming enrollment lottery;
(i) Annual operating budget or summary
thereof as required by O.C.G.A. §
20-2-167.1; and
(j) The charter school's Charter
Contract.
(8)
Onsite Inspection. Each state charter school shall allow the SCSC
and its staff to conduct onsite inspections of all facilities, property, and
equipment owned or utilized by the charter school. The SCSC or its staff may
conduct such onsite inspections without prior notification to the charter
school.
(9)
Other Program
Monitoring. State charter schools may be subject to monitoring of its
programs and activities and required reporting by agencies or entities other
than the SCSC including, but not limited to: the Georgia State Board of
Education or the Georgia Department of Education, the United States Department
of Education, the Department of Early Care and Learning, the Department of
Public Health, the Department of Labor, and the Governor's Office of Student
Achievement. State charter schools shall cooperate with all program monitoring
activities as required by the respective program. State agencies may report any
noncompliance of a state charter school to the SCSC or its staff. Upon
receiving notification from a state agency that a state charter school is in
noncompliance with one or more program activities, the SCSC staff may conduct
additional monitoring activities, such as data review, record inspection, or an
onsite inspection.
O.C.G.A. §§
20-2-2083; 2091.