Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
I. DEFINITIONS
A. A "charter school" means a public,
nonreligious, nonhome-based, nonprofit corporation forming a school that
operates by sponsorship of a public school district, the South Carolina Public
Charter School District, or a public or independent institution of higher
learning, but is accountable to the board of trustees, or in the case of
technical colleges, the area commission, of the sponsor which grants its
charter. Nothing in this chapter prohibits charter schools from offering
virtual services pursuant to state law and subsequent regulations defining
virtual schools.
B. "Applicant"
means the person who or nonprofit corporate entity that desires to form a
charter school and files the necessary application with the South Carolina
Public Charter School District Board of Trustees, the local school board of
trustees in which the charter school is to be located, or the board of trustees
or area commission of a public or independent institution of higher learning.
The applicant also must be the person who or the nonprofit corporate entity
that applies to the Secretary of State to organize the charter school as a
nonprofit corporation.
C. "Sponsor"
means the South Carolina Public Charter School District Board of Trustees; the
local school board of trustees in which the charter school is to be located, as
provided by law; a public institution of higher learning, as defined in
Section59-103-5; or an
independent institution of higher learning, as defined in Section59-113-50,
from which the charter school applicant requested its charter and which granted
approval for the charter school's existence. Only those public or independent
institutions of higher learning, as defined in this subsection, who register
with the South Carolina Department of Education may serve as charter school
sponsors, and the department shall maintain a directory of those institutions.
The sponsor of a charter school is the charter school's local education agency
(LEA) and a charter school is a school within that LEA. The sponsor retains
responsibility for special education and shall ensure that students enrolled in
its charter schools are served in a manner consistent with LEA obligations
under applicable federal, state, and local law.
D. "Charter committee" means the governing
body of a charter school formed by the applicant to govern through the
application process and until the election of a board of directors is held.
After the election, the board of directors of the corporation must be organized
as the governing body and the charter committee is dissolved.
E. "Certified teacher" means a person
currently certified by the State of South Carolina to teach in a public
elementary or secondary school or who currently meets the qualifications
outlined in Sections59-27-10
and
59-25-115.
F. "Noncertified teacher" means an individual
considered appropriately qualified for the subject matter taught and who has
completed at least one year of study at an accredited college or university and
meets the qualifications outlined in Section59-25-115.
G. "Charter school contract" means a fixed
term, renewable contract between a charter school and a sponsor that outlines
the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each
party to the contract.
H. "Resident
public school" means the school, other than a charter school, within whose
attendance boundaries the charter school student's custodial parent or legal
guardian resides."
I. "Local school
district" means any school district in the state except the South Carolina
Public Charter School District, or a public institution of higher learning, as
defined in Section59-103-5;
or an independent institution of higher learning, as defined in
Section59-113-50
and does not include special school districts.
J. "Scholastic year" means the year that
begins on the first day of July of each year and ends on the thirtieth day of
June following.
K. "Alternative
Education Campus (AEC)" means any charter school with an explicit mission as
outlined in its charter to serve an enrolled student population as outlined in
Section59-40-111.
II. APPLICATION REVIEW GUIDELINES
FOR SPONSORS
A. Review of Applications
All charter school applications must be reviewed by the sponsor
to determine compliance with the standards established below. The applications
submitted to the sponsor must demonstrate compliance with each standard. The
sponsor must make a determination to either approve or deny the charter.
B. Application Timeline
An applicant shall submit a letter of intent at least ninety
days before submitting an application to the selected sponsor and a copy to the
South Carolina Department of Education. Applications must be submitted to the
sponsor and one copy to the South Carolina Department on or before February 1,
beginning with the 2016 charter school application cycle. The sponsor's
deadline must ensure completion of the review process by December 1 of the year
preceding the opening of the charter school. If a charter, to include a
conditional charter, is not issued by December 1, the opening will be delayed
one scholastic year. Charter applications must propose school openings that are
consistent with South Carolina's definition of a scholastic year.
C. Requests for Clarifying
Information
If the sponsor determines that an application does not meet one
or more of the standards, it may request clarifying information from the
applicant prior to or during the hearing. The sponsor has the authority to
incorporate this clarifying information into the application.
D. Proposed Contract
A contract between the charter school and the sponsor must be
executed and must reflect all provisions outlined in the application as well as
the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each
party to the contract. A contract must include the proposed enrollment
procedures and dates of the enrollment period of the charter school. All
agreements regarding the release of the charter school from school district
policies must be contained in the contract. The Department of Education shall
develop a contract template to be used by charter schools and the sponsor. The
template must serve as a foundation for the development of a contract between
the charter school and the sponsor.
III. CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION STANDARDS
The charter school application, based on an application
template with compliance guidelines developed by the South Carolina Department
of Education, must include:
A.
Executive Summary
The charter school application must include an executive
summary which must be consistent with the intent of the Charter Schools Act of
1996 and must not exceed two pages in length.
B. Mission Statement
The charter school application must include a mission statement
that must be clear and must support the principles of the Charter Schools
Act.
C. Support for
Formation of a Charter School
1. The
application must include evidence that an adequate number of parents or legal
guardians with students eligible to attend the proposed school pursuant to
Section59-40-50
support the formation of the charter school and justify the projected per pupil
allocation in the application budget.
2. If the social situation of the proposed
school's targeted population precludes establishing parental support, evidence
should demonstrate support from community groups and agencies, including
letters from these entities that specify the level of their commitment to the
school.
3. In the case of a
proposal to convert a school, the application must also include evidence that
two-thirds of the faculty and instructional staff voted to support the filing
of the application and evidence that two-thirds of the voting parents or legal
guardians voted to support the filing of the application. Parents or guardians
shall have one vote for each of their children enrolled in the school (i.e.,
each student may be represented by only one vote). All parents or legal
guardians of students enrolled in the school must be given the opportunity to
vote.
D. Admissions
Policies and Procedures
The application must include a description of the charter
school's admission policies and procedures:
1. The admission policies and procedures must
reflect compliance with all federal and state laws and constitutional
provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed,
color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for special
education services.
2. The
admission policies and procedures must provide that, subject to space
limitations, the charter school admits all children who are eligible to attend
public school in the school district where the charter school is operating,
except in the case of an application to create single-gender schools. For
schools within the South Carolina Public Charter School District, or
institutions of higher education, the enrollment is open to all children who
are eligible to attend public school in the state. If the number of
applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or
building, students must be accepted by lot, as specified in federal or state
guidance. There is no appeal to the sponsor.
3. The policies and procedures must not limit
or deny admission or show preference to any individual group except in the case
of an application to create single-gender schools; however, priority, which may
not exceed twenty percent of the enrollment of the charter school for the
categories in (b) and (c) below, may be given to
a. a sibling of a pupil currently enrolled or
attending, or who within the last six years attended the school for at least
one complete academic year,
b.
children of charter school employees, and
c. children of the charter school
committee.
4. Admission
priority must be given to all students enrolled in a school undergoing a
conversion. All students enrolled in the school at the time of conversion must
be given priority enrollment. Thereafter, students who reside within the former
attendance area of that public school must be given enrollment
priority.
5. The policies and
procedures must include provisions to grant or deny permission for students to
attend the charter school if they reside in a school district other than the
one where the charter school is located. This section is not applicable to
schools authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District or
institutions of higher education.
a.
In-district students will be given priority.
b. Out-of-district student enrollment must
not exceed 20 percent of the total enrollment of the charter school without the
approval of the receiving district board of trustees. The sending district must
be notified immediately of the transferring students. Out-of-district students
must be considered on the basis of the order in which their applications are
received.
c. If the 20 percent of
the out-of-district students are from one school district, then the sending
district must concur with any additional students transferring from that
district to attend the charter school.
6. A charter school located on a federal
military installation or base where the appropriate authorities have made
buildings, facilities, and grounds on the installation or base available for
use by the charter school, as its principal location, also may give enrollment
priority to otherwise eligible students who are dependents of military
personnel living in military housing on the base or installation or who are
currently stationed at the base or installation not to exceed 50 percent of the
total enrollment of the charter school. This priority is in addition to the
other priorities provided by this item, but no child may be counted more than
once for purposes of determining the percentage makeup of each
priority.
7. If a charter school
denies admission to a student for reasons other than the results of a lottery,
the student may appeal the denial to the sponsor. The decision will be binding
on the student and the charter school.
E. Goals, Objectives, Educational Program,
Curriculum, and Academic Performance Standards
The charter school's goals, objectives, educational program,
curriculum, and academic performance standards must be clearly described in the
application and must meet or exceed any student academic standards adopted by
the school district in which the charter school is located. The application
must demonstrate that the educational program is designed to enable each
student to achieve these standards.
1.
The goals and objectives must be clearly stated and must provide enough detail
to indicate specific outcomes.
2.
The student population must be identified by grade level, unique educational
needs, and projected enrollment. A converted charter school must offer the same
grades, or non-graded education appropriate for the same ages and education
levels of pupils, as offered by the school immediately before conversion and
may also provide additional grades and further educational offerings.
3. The educational goals must reflect the
school's mission statement.
4.
Strategies to accomplish the educational goals must be included.
5. The school calendar must be at least 180
instructional days.
6. Academic
standards must identify what students will achieve at each grade level and must
meet or exceed the South Carolina curriculum standards, as adopted by the State
Board of Education. A correlation or other documentation must be included or
process identified to ensure that the school will provide an instructional
program that meets or exceeds the academic standards.
7. If the charter school plans to offer the
South Carolina State High School Diploma, the application must set forth the
method for meeting the state requirements for the High School Diploma,
including, but not limited to, course unit requirements, seat time for Carnegie
Units, as applicable, and the administration of the required
examinations.
8. Provisions must be
included for determining if all students are achieving or attaining the
standards, including the methods by which student performance information will
be gathered and monitored.
9. The
application must include an explanation as to how the school will comply with
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
F. Student Assessment
The application must include a description of the charter
school's plan for evaluating pupil achievement and progress toward
accomplishment of the school's achievement standards. The school's evaluation
plan must include state-mandated assessments and other assessments as well as
the timeline for meeting these standards and the procedures to be taken if
pupil achievement falls below the standards.
1. Methods for evaluating pupil achievement
at each grade level must be specified. These methods must include but should
not be limited to the state assessments.
2. The timeline must identify the expected
yearly progress toward meeting the school's long-term performance goals. The
expected yearly progress must meet or exceed the expectation of the federal
accountability system recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
3. Provisions must be included to address the
needs of students who do not perform at acceptable levels of proficiency in the
statewide assessment program.
G. Budget and Accounting System
The application must include a plan for the charter school that
is economically sound and in compliance with state and federal
requirements:
1. A budget for the term
of the charter must be included. The charter school must use the same budget
codes as are required of school districts. The budget must be based on
documented State Department of Education estimated revenues in accordance with
the allocations in S.C. Code Ann. Section59-40-140(A)
-(C). If the budget includes funds acquired through grants, the application
must present evidence that the funds, including federal public charter school
start-up grants, are likely to be received, and the terms of the projected
grants must be explained. Anticipated expenditures must include all costs
associated with initial implementation and continued operation, including but
not limited to instructional and support costs for:
a. salaries,
b. employee benefits,
c. purchased services (includes insurance and
transportation),
d. supplies and
materials (includes noncapital equipment), and
e. capital outlay.
2. The application must include a description
of the annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the
charter school, including evidence that the charter school will adhere to the
accounting, auditing, and reporting procedures and requirements that are
applied to public schools operating in South Carolina. Accounting, auditing,
and reporting requirements must be in compliance with the principles set forth
in the following publications, published annually by the Office of Finance:
a. Single Audit Guide,
b. Financial Accounting Handbook,
and
c. Funding Manual.
3. The application must include
documentation regarding the pupil accounting system, including evidence that
the charter school will adhere to the procedures and regulations that are
applied to public schools operating in South Carolina. Pupil accounting and
reporting requirements must be in compliance with the S.C. Pupil Accounting
Manual and the S.C. Student Accountability Manual, published by the State
Department of Education.
4. The
application must include documentation of any negotiated services provided by
the sponsor, including but not limited to financial accounting, payroll
services, food services, custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, library
and media services, and warehousing.
H. Governance and Operation
The application must include a description of the governance
and operation of the charter school including:
1. A detailed school start-up plan, resumes
and background information on the charter committee members, the capacity and
experience of the school leadership and management team, any involvement with
the replication of existing successful public charter schools, any proposed
management company or educational service provider responsibilities, and the
nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement
in the governance and operation of the charter school.
2. The charter school must be organized as a
South Carolina non-profit corporation and the application must include a copy
of the non-profit corporation's articles of incorporation and bylaws.
3. The charter committee must include at
least one teacher.
4. The board of
directors must consist of seven or more individuals with the exact number
specified in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws. Members of a board of
directors may serve a term of two years, and may serve additional terms. A
choice of the membership of the board must take place every two years. Fifty
percent of the members of the board as specified by the bylaws must be
individuals who have a background in K-12 education or in business, and the
bylaws of the charter school also must provide for the manner of selection of
these members. In addition, at least 50 percent of the members of the board as
specified by the bylaws must be elected by the employees and the parents or
guardians of students enrolled in the charter school. Parents or guardians
shall have one vote for each student enrolled in the charter school. All
members must be residents of the State of South Carolina. A person who has been
convicted of a felony must not be elected to a board of directors. If the board
of directors consists of an odd number of members, the extra member must be an
individual who has a background in K-12 education or in business;
5. The charter committee must assume the
following responsibilities:
a. employing and
contracting with teachers and nonteaching employees;
b. ensuring that teachers, whether certified
or noncertified, undergo the background checks and other investigations
required for certified teachers, as provided by law, before they may teach in
the charter school;
c. contracting
for other services;
d. developing
pay scales, performance criteria, and discharging policies for its
employees;
e. deciding all other
matters related to the operation of the charter school, including budgeting,
curriculum, and operating procedures; and
f. ensuring that the charter school will
adhere to the same health, safety, civil rights, and disability rights
requirements as are applied to all public schools operating in the same school
district.
6.The
application must include a description of the administrative structure of the
charter school, including the roles and responsibilities of each administrative
staff member.
7. Evidence of the
nature and extent of parental, community, and professional educator involvement
in the governance and operation of the school must be provided.
8. Evidence must be provided that the charter
school and its governing body will comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
Such evidence may include the bylaws of the nonprofit corporation, which must
be established prior to application.
I. Administrative and Teaching Staff
The charter school must employ administrators and teachers in a
manner consistent with the Charter Schools Act:
1. Part-time noncertified teachers must be
considered pro rata in calculating staff percentages based on the hours which
they are expected to teach.
2. A
noncertified teacher must be appropriately qualified for the subject matter
taught, must have completed at least one year of study at an accredited college
or university, and must meet the qualifications outlined in S.C. Code Ann.
Section59-25-115.
3. A certified teacher must hold current
certification by the State of South Carolina to teach in a public elementary,
middle, or secondary school.
J. Racial Composition
The application must describe how the charter school intends to
ensure that the enrollment of the school is similar to the racial composition
of the school district or to the targeted student population the charter school
proposes to serve and must also provide assurance that the school complies with
any school district desegregation plan or order in effect:
1. The application must demonstrate timely,
fair, and realistic policies and procedures for recruiting, registering, and
admitting students that reflect the racial composition of the school district
or the targeted school population.
2. The proposed procedures and policies must
reflect an understanding of the racial composition of the district and the
targeted student population.
3. To
ensure compliance with a desegregation plan or order, the charter school
applicant should take the following steps and provide documentation that these
steps were taken in its application:
a.
request and receive a letter from the district indicating whether the school
will be subject to any desegregation plan or order;
b. secure a copy of the desegregation plan or
order if the school is subject to such;
c. determine and demonstrate that the charter
school's policies and procedures are in compliance with the desegregation plan
or order;
d. request and receive a
letter from the district that indicates whether the charter school's proposed
policies and procedures are in compliance with any desegregation plan or order
in effect in the district or whether clarification must be received from the
Office for Civil Rights.
K. Transportation
The application must include a description of how the charter
school intends to meet the transportation needs of its pupils:
1. If the charter school will provide
transportation by school bus, the application must include a plan that complies
with the state requirements for drivers and training and the state safety
requirements for school buses.
If the lack of transportation is preventing students from
attending, the charter school should provide a plan to address their
transportation needs.
2. If
the charter school intends to contract with the district or a third party for
transportation services, a description of those services and a proposed
contract must be provided in the application.
3. A charter school is not required to
provide or facilitate transportation for out-of-district students.
L. Facilities and Equipment
The application must include a description of the building,
facilities, and equipment and an explanation as to how they will be
obtained.
1. If a facility suitable
for use by the charter school is identified at the time of application, the
application must provide the following information with regard to the facility
that the charter school intends to occupy:
(a)
the address of the facility;
(b) a
description of the facility;
(c) a
floor plan of the facility, including a notation of its size in square
footage;
(d) the name and address
of the owner of the facility;
(e) a
copy of the proposed lease or rental agreement if the facility will be leased
or rented; and
(f) a description of
the equipment that will be used to support the proposed curriculum and an
explanation as to how the equipment will be obtained.
2. If the charter school has not identified a
suitable facility, the application must specify a plan for obtaining such a
facility and must include:
(a) a description
of the facility needs
(b) a
statement as to whether an existing facility will be remodeled or a new
facility will be built;
(c) a
schedule for completing or obtaining a suitable facility and, if applicable, a
description of and timeline for any plan to raise funds for completing or
obtaining the facility; and
(d) a
description of the equipment that will be used to support the proposed
curriculum and an explanation as to how the equipment will be
obtained.
M.
Employee Relations
The application must explain the relationship that will exist
between the charter school and its employees, including evaluation
procedures:
1. The application must
include a description of the process that will be used to advertise for,
select, and employ instructional staff and other employees.
2. The procedure for the evaluation of
teachers of the charter school must be outlined in the application.
a. The charter school may choose to use the
ADEPT (Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Professional Teaching) program or
other teacher evaluation method consistent with the state-approved evaluation
systems. If ADEPT is to be used, the school must meet all requirements of the
program.
b. If the charter school
selects another method of evaluation other than ADEPT, that method must be
explained with adequate detail. Teachers with Initial Teaching Certificates in
those schools can advance to a renewable Limited Professional Teaching
Certificate but cannot advance to a full Professional Teaching
Certificate.
3. The
application must explain how the terms and conditions of employment will be
addressed with affected employees.
N. Grievance and Termination Procedures
The charter school must have a reasonable grievance and
termination procedure for its employees:
1. The charter school may, with agreement
from the sponsor, adopt the procedures for the employment and dismissal of
teachers outlined in S.C. Code Ann. Section59-25-410
et seq. (1990).
2. If the charter
school does not adopt procedures for the employment and dismissal of teachers
outlined in S.C. Code Ann. Section
59-25-410
et seq. (1990), the charter school must establish employment and termination
procedures that provide for notice and a right to a hearing before the
governing board.
3. The charter
school application must include grievance or termination procedures for
paraprofessionals and other staff.
4. Teachers and other staff members who are
employed at a public school that converts and who desire to continue to teach
or work at the converted school may do so but will remain employees of the
local school district with the same compensation and benefits including any
future increases.
O.
Student Conduct, Rights, and Responsibilities
The charter school application must include a policy governing
student conduct, student rights and responsibilities, and student discipline
standards and procedures:
1. The
policy must set forth disciplinary actions to be taken by the administration
for breaches of the student conduct policy.
2. The application must set forth an appeal
process for students recommended for expulsion that includes a right to appeal
a decision to the charter school board.
3. The application must set forth an
assurance that the charter school will comply with S.C. Code Ann.
Section59-63-235
(Supp. 2001), which provides for the expulsion of any student who brings a
firearm to school.
4. The
application must include an assurance that the charter school will comply with
the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act ( 20 U.S.C. Section 1232
).
5. The application must contain
the explanation of the policies with regard to student conduct, rights, and
responsibilities that will be given to parents and students at the beginning of
the school year.
P.
Indemnification
The charter school must assume the liability for the activities
of the charter school and must agree to indemnify and hold harmless the school
district, its servants, agents, and employees from any and all liability,
damage, expense, causes of action, suits, claims, or judgments arising from
injury to persons or property or otherwise that arises out of the act, failure
to act, or negligence of the charter school, its agents and employees, in
connection with or arising out of the activity of the charter school.
Q. Insurance
The application must include a description of the types and
amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained by the charter school. The
application must address, but is not limited to, the following types of
insurance: workers' compensation, liability, property, indemnity, and
automotive.
IV.
VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOLS
A. Definition: a
virtual charter school is a charter school whereby students are taught
primarily through online methods; however, at least 25 percent of the
instruction in core areas as defined in Section IV(E)(1) must be through
regular instructional opportunities. Regular instructional opportunities may
include, but are not limited to, the opportunities outlined in Section
IV(E)(2).
B. The following
additional information must be submitted to the sponsor with the charter
application:
1. List of currently developed
courses that are ready for curriculum alignment;
2. Access to one course per level that can be
previewed by South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) to assess depth of
work necessary for curriculum alignment;
3. Description of how the proposed charter
will comply with the 25 percent real time requirement;
4. A timeline of how curriculum development
will be completed and then approved by the SCDE;
5. A description of how much teacher
interaction students will receive within the online instruction;
6. A description of the portal used and how
it works;
7. A description of how
the applicant plans to comply with the teacher requirements in S.C. Code Ann.
Section59-40-50.
C. Curriculum
1. All courses in core areas for which there
are state-adopted curriculum standards must be reviewed to determine whether
the courses meet content and grade specific standards, and approved by the SCDE
prior to offering the course.
2.
Review by the Sponsor
After the approval or conditional approval of a charter by the
sponsor, the virtual charter school may submit courses for approval by the
sponsor.
D.
Additional Program Requirements
The program must provide the following:
1. Each course must be taught by a teacher
meeting the requirements of S.C. Code Ann. Section59-40-50;
2. Ensure that a parent or legal guardian
verifies the number of hours of educational activities completed by the student
each year;
3. Provide for frequent,
ongoing monitoring of an individual student's program to verify each student is
participating in the program;
4.
Include proctored assessments for core subjects per semester that are graded or
evaluated by the teacher;
5.
Conduct at least bi-weekly parent-teacher conferences in person,
electronically, or by telephone;
6.
Provide for a method to verify student attendance;
7. Provide for verification of ongoing
student progress and performance in each course as documented by assessments
and examples of coursework.
E. Regular Instructional Opportunities
1. The charter school must provide regular
instructional opportunities in real time that are directly related to the
school's curricular objectives. Core academic instruction includes instruction
in English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages,
civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.
2. Regular instructional opportunities
include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. meetings with teachers;
b. educational field trips and
outings;
c. virtual field trips
that are in real time attended by other charter school students;
d. virtual conferencing sessions;
and
e. offline work or projects
assigned by the teacher of record.
VI. ADVERSE IMPACT ON STUDENTS
A local school board of trustees may deny an application if the
charter school would adversely affect the other students in the
district.
A. The local school board of
trustees must demonstrate adverse impact on students. The impact must be
specific and must have a negative effect on students. If the local school board
of trustees finds that the charter school would adversely affect other students
of the district, the written explanation of the reasons for denial required by
Section59-40-70(C)
must describe detrimental effects upon other students of the
district.
B. If the district is
claiming an adverse impact based upon the redirection of funding to the charter
school, the district must demonstrate that the funds being redirected to the
charter school will have a direct negative impact on students.
1. The district must show options it has
considered in an effort to reduce the adverse financial impact of the charter
school.
2. The district has
considered the net fiscal impact of the charter school, including the fiscal
benefits that the charter school may bring to the district.
