Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) The state board of education shall
develop and make available on its website, no later than May 15th of each year,
an "authorizer application" that must be used by school districts seeking to be
approved as a charter school authorizer. The application may include such
attachments as deemed required by the board to support and complete the
application.
(2) A school district
seeking approval to be a charter school authorizer must submit an "authorizer
application" to the state board of education by October 15th of the year prior
to the year the district seeks approval as an authorizer. The district's
completed application must be submitted according to instructions posted by the
board with the application. The board shall post on its website each
application received from a school district.
(3) A school district must provide sufficient
and detailed information regarding all of the following in the authorizer
application submitted to the board:
(a)
The district's strategic vision for chartering. The district must
state the purposes that it expects to fulfill in being an authorizer of charter
schools, with reference to the findings and interests set forth in RCW
28A.710.005, as well as any district-specific purposes that are a priority for
the district; the educational goals it wishes to achieve; how it will give
priority to serving at-risk students, as defined in
RCW
28A.710.010(2), or students
from low-performing schools; and how it will respect the autonomy and ensure
the accountability of the charter schools it oversees.
(b)
A plan to support the vision
presented, including explanations and evidence of the applicant's budget
and personnel capacity and commitment to execute the responsibilities of
quality charter authorizing. "Budget and personnel capacity" means the
district's capability of providing sufficient oversight, monitoring, and
assistance to ensure that the charter schools it authorizes will meet all
fiscal, academic and operational requirements under chapter 28A.710 RCW and
comply with all applicable state and federal laws. A district's evidence of
budget and personnel capacity shall consist, at a minimum, of a detailed
description of the following:
(i) Staff
resources to be devoted to charter authorizing and oversight under chapter
28A.710 RCW, in full-time equivalent employees, at a level sufficient to
fulfill its authorizing responsibilities in accordance with the NACSA
Principles and Standards and the provisions of chapter 28A.710 RCW;
and
(ii) An estimate, supported by
verifiable data, of the financial needs of the authorizer and a projection, to
the extent feasible, of sufficient financial resources, supported by the
authorizer oversight fee under
RCW
28A.710.110 and any other resources, to carry
out its authorizing responsibilities in accordance with the NACSA
Principles and Standards and the provisions of chapter 28A.710 RCW.
(c)
A draft or
preliminary outline of the request for proposal that the district would,
if approved as an authorizer, issue to solicit charter school applications. The
draft or preliminary outline of the request for proposal(s) shall meet all of
the requirements set forth in
RCW
28A.710.130(1)(b) and
demonstrate that the district will implement a comprehensive charter
application process that follows fair procedures and rigorous criteria, and an
evaluation and oversight process based on a performance framework meeting the
requirements of
RCW
28A.710.170.
(d)
A draft of the performance
framework that the district would, if approved as an authorizer, use to
guide the execution of a charter contract and for ongoing oversight and
performance evaluation of charter schools. The draft of the performance
framework shall, at a minimum, meet the requirements of
RCW
28A.710.170(2) including
descriptions of each indicator, measure and metric enumerated therein, and
shall provide that student academic proficiency, student academic growth,
achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth, graduation rates, and
postsecondary readiness are measured and reported in conformance with the
achievement index developed by the state board of education under
RCW
28A.657.110.
(e)
A draft of the district's proposed
renewal, revocation, and nonrenewal processes, consistent with
RCW
28A.710.190 and
28A.710.200.
The draft provided must, at a minimum, provide for the implementation of
transparent and rigorous processes that:
(i)
Establish clear standards for renewal, nonrenewal, and revocation of charters
it may authorize under
RCW
28A.710.100;
(ii) Set reasonable and effective timelines
for actions that may be taken under
RCW
28A.710.190 and
28A.710.200;
(iii) Describe how academic, financial and
operational performance data will be used in making decisions under
RCW
28A.710.190 and
28A.710.200;
(iv) Outline a plan to take appropriate
corrective actions, or exercise sanctions short of revocation, in response to
identified deficiencies in charter school performance or legal compliance, in
accordance with the charter contract and the provisions of
RCW
28A.710.180.
(4) A district must sign a statement of
assurances submitted with its application, which shall be included as an
attachment to the authorizing contract executed between the approved district
and the state board of education, stating that it seeks to serve as an
authorizer in fulfillment of the expectations, spirit, and intent of chapter
28A.710 RCW, and that if approved as an authorizer it will:
(a) Seek opportunities for authorizer
professional development, and assure that personnel with significant
responsibilities for authorizing and oversight of charter schools will
participate in any authorizer training provided or required by the
state;
(b) Provide public
accountability and transparency in all matters concerning charter authorizing
practices, decisions, and expenditures;
(c) Ensure that any charter school it
oversees shall have a fully independent governing board and exercise autonomy
in all matters, to the extent authorized by chapter 28A.710 RCW, in such areas
as budgeting, personnel and instructional programming and design;
(d) Ensure that any contract it may execute
with the charter school board of an approved charter school under
RCW 28A.710.160
provides that the school will provide educational services to students with
disabilities, students who are limited-English proficient, and any other
special populations of students as required by state and federal
laws;
(e) Include in any charter
contract it may execute with the charter school board of an approved charter
school, in accordance with RCW 28A-710-040(2)(b), that the charter school must
provide a program of basic education that at a minimum meets the requirements
of
RCW
28A.150.200 and
28A.150.220,
and meets the goals in
RCW
28A.150.210, including instruction in the
essential learning requirements and participation in the statewide student
assessment system as developed under
RCW
28A.655.070.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
28A.710.090. WSR 13-07-065, §
180-19-030, filed 3/19/13,
effective 4/19/13.