The NC Public Charter School Advisory Council met September 11-12 and voted on several changes to the charter school application process. The following items will be discussed at the State Board of Education (SBE) during their work session on October 2-3. The SBE will likely vote on these recommendations in November.

The Policy Subcommittee made final revisions to the 2012-13 application timeline and sent them on to the SBE for approval.  The Policy Subcommittee also introduced and recommended a letter of intent that all charter school applicants must fill out by January 4, 2013. The letter must include contact information (name, address and potential location of school) and may include the mission statement, grade structure, student projections and target population.  The letter was created in order for the Office of Charter Schools to better track the number of applicants and help assign applicants to the various subcommittees.

The application deadline was also set for March 1, 2013 and the Council recommended one hard copy and one online copy be presented to the Office of Charter Schools.

Finally, the Policy Subcommittee advised the Office of Charter Schools to use the NC Charter School Annual Compliance Review in its annual review of charter schools. These reviews are anticipated to be done in the fall of each year.

The Application Content Subcommittee also met and made several revisions to the application in an attempt to streamline content and make it more efficient.

In addition, the LEA Impact Subcommittee met and voted on revisions to the LEA Expected Impact statement form. This form allows the LEA to provide input on the expected impact from the charter school entering the district. The subcommittee also recommended incorporating the charter school’s vision of impact on the LEA into the application itself.  Finally, the subcommittee voted on revisions to the LEA Impact Statement Template for Proposed Charter School Growth or Grade Expansion.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for Oct 16-17.