CCAP Consulting Services: Expert Support for Charter School Authorizers
Charter school authorizing is complex, and we understand that sometimes you need more than just resources and training—you need hands-on support. Many California authorizers operate with limited staff, juggle multiple responsibilities, and face ever-changing charter laws. Whether you’re navigating authorizing for the first time or seeking expert guidance to streamline your processes, CCAP is here to help. Let us provide the direct assistance you need to confidently fulfill your authorizing responsibilities.
Consulting Services for Authorizers
“We love CCAP’s resources and training, but we just really need more direct help with actually doing some of these authorizing functions.”
CCAP sometimes hears this sentiment from authorizers, and it’s understandable why. Most California authorizers are small school districts or county offices, many with no dedicated authorizing staff. All of them have plenty on their plates fulfilling their other core functions. And high staff turnover and changing charter laws mean that many staff members tasked with authorizing are on unfamiliar ground.
CCAP offers more than free resources
In addition to its free resources and trainings, and its California Charter School Authorizers Conference, CCAP provides affordable direct authorizing services to client authorizers around the state. CCAP engages a statewide network of independent consultants who can assist with the direct services work and who combine comprehensive experience and expertise across all dimensions of authorizing.
CCAP consulting services can be one-time, temporary, or recurring. They can be focused specifically on one task or they can be broader. Frequently they are transitional, designed to meet an immediate challenge while helping to develop the authorizer’s own internal capacity going forward. See below for some examples of direct support CCAP can provide.
Types of Direct Services
Academic & Fiscal Oversight
Conducting annual and ongoing reporting and monitoring, or setting up systems for this.
Charter Site Visits
Organizing, conducting, and documenting school visits.
Financial Analysis
Reviewing and analyzing charter school financials.
Performance Reporting
Preparing annual performance reports.
Petition & Revision Reviews
Evaluating renewal petitions and material revisions.
MOU Guidance
Providing non-legal advice on authorizer-charter school agreements.
LCAP Review
Assessing charter school Local Control and Accountability Plans.
Compliance Notices
Drafting notices of concern or violation.
Training & Support
Developing authorizing capacity and onboarding staff.
CCAP has provided authorizing services for charter schools that include a wide range of characteristics:
- Both seat-based and nonclassroom-based programs;
- Directly (“independent”) and locally funded (“dependent”) schools ;
- Free-standing schools and those associated with charter management organizations (CMOs);
- Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools;
- Schools serving enrollments of fewer than 100 students and enrollments of more than 5,500;
- Schools serving various grade spans, including TK-6, TK-8, 7-12, 9-12, K-12, and TK-12;
- Schools in “year zero” between approval and opening, schools in the first year of operation, long established schools, and schools up for renewal;
- Schools that are their own local educational agency (LEA) for special education purposes and may belong to a charter SELPA, and schools that choose to be a school of the district for special education purposes;
- Schools whose staffs operate under collective bargaining agreements;
- Schools that have operated under, or are interested in operating under, a partnership under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); and
- Schools that are transitioning between authorizers.
For more information, or if you would like to explore whether and how CCAP may be able to support your authorizing functions, please contact CCAP Executive Director Tom Hutton at tom.hutton@calauthorizers.org or 916.244.3520.
