Building Better Authorizing Practices with CCAP’s New Toolkits
California charter authorizers have four key responsibilities: (1) deciding whether to approve charter petitions, (2) monitoring and reporting on a charter school’s ongoing operations, (3) determining when and how to intervene if performance targets are not met, and (4) deciding whether to renew a charter school.
Complying with each of those categories; however, includes dozens of evaluations, observations, assessments, and difficult questions. Many of them are not clearly answered by state law or California Department of Education regulations.
That’s where CCAP’s authorizer toolkits come in. In April, we released our first two toolkits for authorizers, developed with WestEd, which cover Initial Charter Petitions and Annual Reports.
Think of them as roadmaps that get you from Point A to Point Z in the most direct way, with all the best places to stop in between, and without getting lost on rutted side streets. Each toolkit is divided into sections; contains short explanatory videos; and includes statutory requirements, best practices, templates, and resources to organize oversight activities.
The toolkits go beyond what’s essential; they take authorizing to a higher level by focusing on four Core Charter Performance Questions:
- Is the charter school’s education program a success?
- Is the charter school financially viable?
- Is the charter school operating and governed effectively?
- Is the charter school advancing equity and access through serving public policy purposes?
CCAP developed the toolkits in collaboration with WestEd and a group of California district and county office authorizers to enable all authorizers, regardless of size, location, and finances, to achieve the highest standards of charter school authorizing.
