CCAP’s Annual California Charter School Authorizers Conference

The CCAP conference provides new and experienced school district and county office of education staff members and board members with an engaging program and excellent opportunities to connect with colleagues and other experts. Other participants also are welcome to attend.

Register Now for the 2026 Charter School Authorizers Conference!

Day(s)

Hour(s)

Minute(s)

Second(s)

Paradise Point Resort & Spa – June 16-18, 2026

San Diego, California

About the Event

It’s still not too late to plan to join around 150 authorizing staff and board members from large, small, urban, and rural school districts, and county offices of education across the state, as well as attorneys, charter school leaders, vendors, consultants, state officials, and national speakers and attendees, at the annual convening of California’s charter school authorizing community.

The 2026 conference is June 16-18 at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego. Tuesday, June 16, is the optional, stand-alone preconference on “Charter Authorizing & Oversight 101” presented by the Charter Authorizer Support Initiative (CASI). The afternoon of Thursday, June 18, will offer optional “Deeper Dive” workshops, included with registration. As always, the program includes a strand on fiscal topics, and this year’s adds rich options for experienced authorizers in addition to the usual strong grounding for new ones.

This year’s conference also features a special new strand focused on governance, perfect for members of school district and county board members, as well as for charter school governing board members — and for the staff who advise them. District, county, and school teams, consider bringing a board member with you!

Conference registration is heavily discounted for CCAP members. For information on joining CCAP, please click here. All Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) members automatically also are CCAP members. We hope to see you soon!

Conference Program & Schedule

June 16–18, 2026

NOTE! The conference will once again be using the Accelevents events management app, where all the final information on sessions and speakers will be available. Download the app if you don’t already have it, log on using the same email address you used to register for the conference, and find “California Charter School Authorizers Conference 2026.”

Sessions designated “(CASI)” are presented by the Charter Authorizer Support Initiative, a project of the California Department of Education, the Santa Clara and Los Angeles County Offices of Education, and the San Diego Unified School District, with additional support from CCAP.

Additional conference highlights can be found in recent e-lerts CCAP has sent out, which can be accessed here:

June 12, 2026 – Get accelevents app, Presenter information, Plenary session updates, Survey about your Thursday Deeper Dive plans
June 5, 2026 – Plenary sessions, More concurrent session highlights
May 21, 2026 – Program strands: Governance, Fiscal, Data & Renewals, New Authorizers, Experienced Authorizers, Deeper Dives

Tuesday, June 16, 2026
9:00 AM–5:00 PM	Preconference: Charter Authorizing & Oversight 101 Stand-alone, optional preconference presented by the Charter Authorizer Support Initiative (CASI). CASI’s very popular “boot camp” is valuable in its own right but also a great orientation for the full conference. Presenters: Tiffany Degraffenreid, Manager, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD; Michelle Johnson, Director, Charter Schools Office, Santa Clara County Office of Education; Shallu Sharma, Financial Administrator, Charter Schools Office, Santa Clara County Office of Education; Angela Fernandez, Coordinator, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education; Tom Hutton, Executive Director, CCAP; David Patterson, Board President, CCAP, and Trustee, Placer County Board of Education; Debi Deal, Senior Fiscal Consultant, CCAP Lunch for Preconference registrants sponsored by Capitol Advisors.
5:30 PM–7:00 PM	Meet-and-Greet – sponsored by SchoolQualityReview.ai
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
7:30 AM–8:45 AM	Breakfast & Welcome – sponsored by Christy White, Inc.: A Professional Accountancy Company
8:45 AM–9:00 AM	Break
9:00 AM–10:00 AM	Presentations Block 1 (60 minutes) “Where Do I Begin?” When You Are Brand New to Authorizing – Nesha Pattison, Director of Charter Services, Acton-Agua Dulce USD; Larry King, Senior Director of Outreach and Development, Sage Oak Charter Schools Navigating Charter Oversight: Challenges and Strategies for Balancing Accountability and Autonomy – Bill Schuetz, Shareholder Attorney, Dennis Woliver Kelley, Attorneys at Law; Tiffany Degraffenreid, Manager, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD Renewals: The Fundamentals (CASI) – Michelle Johnson, Director, Charter Schools Office, Santa Clara County Office of Education; Indra Ciccarelli, Director, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Authorizing Under Pressure: Navigating Politics, Law, and Public Accountability: A Case Study – Amanda Goldman, Ed.D., Director of Innovative Schools, Sacramento City USD; Leslie Lacher, Partner, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP
10:00 AM–10:15 AM	Break
10:15 AM–11:30 AM	Presentations Block 2 (75 minutes) From Electricity to AI: Powering the Next Era of Charter Authorizing – Jacob Allen, CEO, Reportwell; Adam Aberman, CEO, SchoolQualityReview.AI; Darryl Brown, Ed.D., Coordinator, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Authorizing in Context: Balancing Law, Local History, and Board Discretion in Charter Decision-Making – Alysse Castro, Superintendent, Alameda County Office of Education; Juwen Lam, Chief of Accountability Partnerships, Alameda County Office of Education Making Sense with Renewal Data – Now Featuring ELA and Math Growth Dashboard Data – Susanne Coie, School Accountability and Education Policy Specialist, Charter Schools Development Center; Indra Ciccarelli, Director, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Future Ready: Authorizing Schools that Support Student Choice from Classroom to Career – Heather Wendling, Vice President of Professional Services, National Charter Schools Institute; Dominique Smith, Ed.D., Principal, Health Sciences High & Middle College; Broc Arnaiz, Ed.D., Vice Principal and Director of Community Schools, Health Sciences High & Middle College; Brett Taylor, Chief Engagement Officer, e3 Civic High
11:30 AM–11:45 AM	Break
11:45 AM–1:15 PM	Lunch & First Plenary – sponsored by National Charter Schools Institute \| Epicenter Panel Discussion: The State of California Charter Authorizing and Related Legislation – The latest on the charter oversight provisions of the budget trailer bill, other legislation, and continuing structural challenges for the authorizing profession. Ric Reyes, Director, Charter Schools Division, California Department of Education Stephanie Farland, Director of Education Policy, Capitol Advisors Group Brian Badillo, Charter Audit Partner, Christy White, Inc.: A Professional Accountancy Corporation David Patterson, Ed.D., Board President, CCAP, and Trustee, Placer County Board of Education Moderator: Tom Hutton, Executive Director, CCAP
1:15 PM–1:30 PM	Break
1:30 PM–2:45 PM	Presentations Block 3 (75 minutes) Adopting Sound Policies on Charter Management Agreements and CMOs – Michael Wrobel, Director of Fiscal Performance and Accountability, Central Michigan University; John Yeh, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen; Indra Ciccarelli, Director, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Using Data in Board Renewal Decisions: Putting Students First – Susanne Coie, School Accountability and Education Policy Specialist, Charter Schools Development Center; Jeffrey Hunt, Ed.D, Director of Charter Schools, Office of Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Beyond Compliance: Advanced Charter School Fiscal Oversight Topics – Eugenio Villa, Executive Director, Fiscal Services, Riverside County Office of Education; Martha Delgado, Coordinator, Riverside County Office of Education Delivering FAPE in Charter Schools: What Authorizers Need to Know – Tilman Heyer, Founding Partner Attorney, Heyer Gutierrez, LLP; Michelle Breitmeier, Associate Attorney, Heyer Gutierrez, LLP; Ginese Quann, Executive Director, El Dorado County Charter SELPA
2:45 PM–3:00 PM	Break
3:00 PM–4:00 PM	Presentations Block 4 (60 minutes) Strong Boards, Strong Schools: The Authorizer’s Role in Charter Governance – Heather Wendling, Vice President of Professional Services, National Charter Schools Institute; Corey Loomis, Director of Charter and Community Schools, Riverside County Office of Education The Dependent Charter Dilemma: Navigating Oversight When Schools Feel Like “Yours” (CASI) – Deidre Walsh, Director, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD; Rene Cardona, Coordinator, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Overseeing Personnel and Credentialing Compliance in Charter Schools – Joanne Lin-Hening, Program Manager, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego Unified School District The Auditor’s Perspective: Red Flags, Active Oversight, and Pending Reforms – Christy White, President, Christy White, Inc. A Professional Accountancy Corporation; Brian Badillo, Charter Audit Partner, Christy White, Inc.: A Professional Accountancy Corporation
4:00 PM–4:15 PM	Break
4:15 PM–5:15 PM	Role-Alike Meetings Large/urban school districts – Facilitated by Felicia Olais, Charter Office Director Fresno USD; Brianna García, Vice President, School Services of California and CCAP Treasurer Small/rural school districts – Facilitated by Beverly Jimenez, Coordinator of Education Services, Lakeside Union School District County offices of education – County Charter Authorizing Representative Collaborative (CCARC) meeting – Facilitated by Jeffrey Hunt, Ed.D., Director of Charter Schools, Office of Fresno County Superintendent of Schools; Marlo Hartsuyker, Director of Charter School Support & Oversight, Ventura County Office of Education Non-authorizer partners – Facilitated by Ginese Quann, Executive Director, El Dorado County Charter SELPA Authorizer attorneys – Facilitated by John Yeh, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP; Tom Hutton, Executive Director, CCAP
5:15 PM–5:30 PM	Break
5:30 PM–7:00 PM	Reception & Networking – sponsored by Reportwell
Thursday, June 18, 2026
7:30 AM–8:45 AM	Breakfast & Day’s Opening – sponsored by Dannis Woliver Kelley, Attorneys at Law
8:45 AM–9:00 AM	Break
9:00 AM–10:00 AM	Presentations Block 5 (60 minutes) From Data Overwhelm to Defensible Decision: A Structured Approach to Charter Renewal Performance Review – Everardo Carvajal, Charter School Coordinator, Riverside County Office of Education; Corey Loomis, Director of Charter and Community Schools, Riverside County Office of Education; Kelly Inouye, Charter School Administrator, Riverside County Office of Education Charter School Financial Oversight for District, County, and Charter Governing Boards – Debi Deal, Senior Fiscal Consultant, CCAP; Jason Sitomer, Head of Strategic Accounts, Charter Impact; Raphael Guzman, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Chief Business Official, Inglewood USD Across District Lines: Renewal and Oversight Challenges for Charters In and Out of Authorizer Boundaries – Courtney de Groof, Attorney, Lozano Smith, Attorneys at Law; Amanda Eppley, Attorney, Lozano Smith, Attorneys at Law In the Shadow of Juneteenth: From Desegregation, to Vouchers, to the Charter School Movement – John Yeh, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
10:00 AM–10:30 AM	Break (extra time to check out)
10:30 AM–11:30 AM	Presentations Block 6 (60 minutes) Charter School Authorizing & Oversight 201 (CASI) – Michelle Johnson, Director, Charter Schools Office, Santa Clara County Office of Education; Deidre Walsh, Director, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD; Tiffany Degraffenreid, Manager, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD The Unfinished Agenda: A Discussion of Legislation and Strengthening California’s Charter Authorizing Sector: Facilitators: David Patterson, Board President, CCAP; Kelly Krag-Arnold, Director, Office of Charter Schools, Oakland USD Building Authorizer-Charter School Data Partnerships that Drive Student Success – Indra Ciccarelli, Director, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education; Rene Cardona, Coordinator, Charter School Office, Los Angeles County Office of Education Authorizers Against Burnout: Burnout, Burn-Through, and Systems Design in Charter Authorizing – Amanda Goldman, Ed.D., Director of Innovative Schools, Sacramento City USD
11:30 AM–11:45 AM	Break
11:45 AM–1:30 PM	Lunch & Closing Plenary – sponsored by Lozano Smith, Attorneys at Law Presentation of CCAP Excellence in Authorizing Awards. 2026 Authorizing Exemplar Award – announced by 2025 recipient Deidre Walsh, Director, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD 2026 Authorizing Community Contributor Award – announced by 2025 recipient Amanda Goldman, Ed.D., Director of Innovative Schools, Sacramento City USD Panel Discussion: Where the Buck Stops: School Boards as Authorizers – Insights on the authorizing role of the board of education from those who serve on boards and those who advise them. Richard Barrera, President, San Diego Unified School Board, and Candidate for California Superintendent of Public Instruction Patrick O’Donnell, Chief, Governmental Relations, California School Boards Association Alysse Castro, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Ed Sklar, Partner, Lozano Smith, Attorneys at Law Moderator: Dave Patterson, Ed.D., Board President, CCAP, and Trustee, Placer County Board of Education
1:30 PM–1:45 PM	Break
1:45 PM–3:45 PM	Optional Deeper Dives & Collaborations (120 minutes) These participatory, in-depth sessions are optional but are included for conference attendees: Ready-to-Use Tools for Small or New Authorizers – Take a hands-on “test drive” of a range of free and customizable CCAP authorizing tools designed especially with smaller and/or newer authorizers in mind. – Led by Barbara Mandelbaum, Coordinating Consultant, CCAP; Mefula Fairley, Coordinator, District Improvement and Support, San Mateo County Office of Education Student-Centered Charter School Budgets: Aligning Resources with Educational Priorities – Dive into a case study to explore together how school budgets and LCAPs align, reflect stated educational missions and student-centered priorities, and can be benchmarked against those of comparable nearby charters – Kapil Mathur, Executive Director, Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts; Debi Deal, Senior Fiscal Consultant, CCAP Beyond the Moratorium: Nonclassroom-Based Schools, Essential Oversight, and Innovative Models (CASI) – As authorizers face new petitions and renewals, new oversight requirements, and increased scrutiny of NCB schools, discuss rigorous petition review for NCB models; red flags to watch for in vendor relationships, attendance reporting, and related-party transactions; effective monitoring protocols that go beyond compliance checklists; financial oversight best practices specific to NCB funding determinations; and lessons learned from recent oversight failures and successful interventions – Deidre Walsh, Director, Office of Charter Schools, San Diego USD No Clear Answer: A Discussion of Authorizing Decisions at the Edge of the Framework – Bring your tough scenarios and questions for which current authority or guidance is not clear, and brainstorm together on strategies for now and maybe where greater clarity could be sought. Facilitator: Kelly Krag-Arnold, Director, Office of Charter Schools, Oakland USD Authorizer Attorneys Meeting (subject to interest) – Attorneys for authorizers are invited to continue Wednesday’s Role-alike discussion, socialize, and meet any other authorizer attorneys who were unable to attend the full conference but who can join this meeting. Facilitators: John Yeh, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP; Tom Hutton, Executive Director, CCAP
3:45 PM–4:00 PM	Break
4:00 PM–5:00 PM	Social Hour for True Die-Hards

The Venue

Paradise Point Resort & Spa

1404 Vacation Rd., San Diego, CA 92109

Tucked away on gentle Mission Bay in the heart of San Diego, Paradise Point Resort & Spa features comfortable bungalow-style guest rooms amidst lush, tropical gardens, tranquil lagoons, and one mile of sandy beach. The conference room block was due to expire on Friday, May 22, 2026. Please note that this year the Juneteenth holiday falls on Friday, the day after the conference. Rooms still may be available below, but even if you do not find them at Paradise Point for your desired nights, all is not lost! Other nearby options include the Bahia Resort Hotel; the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina; The Dana on Mission Bay; the Boardwalk Hotel; and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa!

Book here now!

Sponsorship & Exhibiting Opportunities

It’s not too late to become a sponsor or exhibitor at the conference!

The conference is the key statewide convening for the authorizing field, drawing around 150-175 district and county staff and board members, as well as attorneys, charter school leaders, consultants, and other officials. The size is optimal for reaching most of the sector but at the same time offering ample interactions with attendees.

Information on sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities at the 2026 conference is available on the Registration page, or by contacting CCAP at info@calauthorizers.org.

Sponsorship opportunities