What's the Procedure for Applying for a Charter?
Timeline
April 12, 2008: FOCUS Introductory Seminar
May 19, 2008: Milestone One and Walton Family Foundation Business Planning Grant application due to FOCUS for review
May 21-30 2008: FOCUS staff meet with selected groups
June 2008- November 2008: School Design Workshops for Charter Applications
January 2009: DC Public Charter School Board Releases Application Guidelines
January-February 2009: Public Information Meetings provided by DC Public Charter School Board
March/April 2009: Application Deadline
April 2009: Principal Interviews
April 2009: Applicant Interviews
May 2009: Public Hearing
June 2009: Board announces decisions
June – July 2009: Feedback sessions with charter applicants
September 2009: Begin negotiation of charters with applicants whose applications were approved
September 2010: Approved Schools Open
The School Reform Act requires that those wishing to start a public charter school submit an application (formally known as a "petition") to the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB). In the past, groups could also apply to the DC Board of Education (BOE), but in 2007 the BOE was abolished. Thus, the PCSB is the only board accepting new applications.
The PCSB application is lengthy and requires a complete description of the proposed school's educational program, business plan, and student, staff, and other policies. As part of the process each school must also develop an "accountability plan" by which its chartering board will measure its success in improving the academic performance of its students.
Applications are accepted once a year for schools opening in September of the following calendar year (thus, applicants who file in Spring 2009 and are approved will open their schools in September of 2010). Check back to this website for more details on application deadlines and other chartering authority news.
Those seeking to convert a private or DCPS school to a charter school must meet additional requirements. If you are interested in converting a school please see our "Converting a DCPS School" page and call FOCUS at 202/387-0405.
What happens once my petition is submitted?
The Interview
During the month of April your petition will be assigned to a panel of experts retained by the Board. These specialists will review the petition sections pertaining to their areas of expertise and will invite you to interviews in late April so that you may answer any questions they may have.
How the Petition Will Be Evaluated
The DCPCSB uses a point system to evaluate petitions. For example, those charged with evaluating your petition will rate each subsection of your educational plan on a 0-4 scale, and multiply the rating by its weighting. For example:
Section Sample Score x Weighting = Total Score
Mission and Purposes 3 1.75 5.25
Academic Design 4 2.25 9.00
Student Performance 4 2.00 8.00
Support for Learning 3 1.50 4.50
When they have finished scoring your petition the expert panel will forward their evaluations to the Board members for their review. Although all board members will review all petitions, each member will be responsible for a small group of petitions and will lead the discussions pertaining to those petitions.
The FOCUS Guide to Starting a Charter School in the District of Columbia is aligned with the DCPCSB petition guidelines. In each section of the Guide you will find examples from successful petitions, the DCPCSB rubric criteria for that section, and a narrative further explaining the key elements that reviewers will evaluate.
Complete copies of successful petitions are also available in the FOCUS library, along with copies of letters explaining the reasons applicants were denied a charter or asked to make changes to their petitions. These documents will give you a sense of what a successful petition looks like and how the boards evaluate petitions.
The Hearing
Under the School Reform Act, there must be a public hearing on each petition no later than 45 days after the petition is filed.
Each petitioner is allowed approximately 20 minutes, and typically the hearings are held over two evenings. Representatives from your school (no more than three) will be given a few minutes to introduce your school, and any supporters in the audience will be given two minutes each to advocate for your school. During the remaining time you will be questioned by members of the Board. Do not expect that the Board members who question you will have studied your petition carefully; some of their questions would have been answered by careful reading, but you will have to be prepared to answer even the most obvious of questions.
We recommend that your hearing team comprise someone intimately familiar with your academic program and another equally familiar with your business plan (including student recruitment). All team members should know the petition cover to cover, but it is perfectly acceptable (and advisable) to specialize.
The Decision
In June the board will hold an open meeting to announce its decisions. Each petition's strengths and weaknesses will be briefly summarized by the board member responsible for the petition, and then the entire board will vote. Three outcomes are possible:
Approval: Since the implementation of the two-stage review process, only one applicant has received full approval at the first stage. After approval, negotiations on the terms of the charter begin.
Approval with Conditions: Petitions that are very strong and require only relatively minor changes are granted approval with conditions. The board will stipulate the areas to be addressed.
Denial: If your petition is denied, you may appeal the decision to the court, to the Office of the State Superintendent for Education, or file a revised petition the following year to the chartering authority.
