Public Comment

General Information

Welcome to the Public Comment Forum!

Through this forum, the charter community and other stakeholders have an opportunity to voice their position on a potential rule or policy and provide valuable information on how it may impact you and your community. Your feedback will assist the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (Board) and improve its services to the charter community.

We appreciate you taking the time to participate in this forum and look forward to hearing from you.

Draft Rules – Implementation of Financial Framework and Transparency Recommendations

The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (“Board”) has drafted proposed rules to implement the financial performance framework and additional transparency recommended by the Board’s Financial Framework Subcommittee (“Subcommittee”) and approved by the Board at its December 10, 2018 meeting.

Financial Framework

A.R.S. § 15-183(R) requires the Board, as a sponsoring entity of a charter school, to ground its actions in evidence of the charter holder’s performance in accordance with the Board’s performance framework and requires the Board’s performance framework to include the financial expectations of the charter school. The draft proposed rules include revisions to nine current rule sections, with most of the revisions related to the financial framework being made to R7-5-101, R7-5-402 and R7-5-509. The revisions made to R7-5-402(I) and (L) specify that if, based on the next audit, a charter holder identified as “Not on Probation” under R7-5-402(F) is assigned a summative performance rating of “Intervention,” the Board shall determine that the charter holder is “On Probation.”

Transparency Recommendations

As part of the Subcommittee’s discussions with stakeholders, the Subcommittee determined that additional transparency is needed to complement the financial framework. The additional transparency includes requiring charter holders to:

By September 1 of each year, notify the Board, in writing, of whether they have an agreement or contract with an education service provider for the current school year and provide certain information about that provider [see R7-5-501(D)].

Conspicuously and permanently post a link on their websites to their performance dashboards on the Board’s website [see R7-5-501(E)].

Report certain information to the Board within 10 business days [see R7-5-501(C)].

The Board has drafted rules for the implementation of the financial framework and the additional transparency recommendations and, in accordance with the Board’s Procedures for Rule and Policy Adoption, has posted the draft rules for the first opportunity for public comment (see link below).

Draft Rules for Implementation of Financial Framework and Transparency Recommendations

The Board is also considering the process it will use to implement the financial framework in Fiscal Year 2020. At this time, the Board’s intention in Fiscal Year 2020 is to assign each charter holder a summative performance rating under the new framework based on Fiscal Year 2019 audits, including the rating of “Intervention.” Those charter holders assigned a rating of “Intervention” would be subject to the reporting and evaluation requirements prescribed in the draft rules.

For Fiscal Year 2020 only, in recognition of the fact that the financial framework was developed during Fiscal Year 2019 and that Fiscal Year 2020 is a transition year to the new framework, and notwithstanding R7-5-402(D), the Board may choose to allow those charter holders assigned a summative performance rating of “Intervention,” if the charter holder meets all other eligibility criteria, to submit expansion requests specified in R7-5-402(C)(1)-(7). Such expansion requests would require the review and approval of the Board and such charter holders whose Fiscal Year 2020 audit produces a summative performance rating of “Intervention” would no longer be eligible to submit expansion requests specified in R7-5-402(C)(1)-(7) and would be subject to the provisions of R7-5-402(D).

Additionally, the Board does not intend to make revocation or non-renewal decisions based on the financial framework until a charter holder’s Fiscal Year 2020 audit has been reviewed.

Posting period: June 4, 2019 – June 24, 2019

Please submit your feedback in writing to the Board during the posting period using one of the following options:

  1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected].
  2. Written comments may be mailed to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005.
  3. Written comments may be delivered to the Board office located at 1616 W. Adams St., Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85007

For all responses, please provide the following information:

  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Mailing address (optional)
  • Organization (optional)

Financial Eligibility for Expansion Requests Recommendation

To ensure a minimum standard of achievement and operations charter holders should strive to obtain before expanding, the Board adopted financial, academic and operational eligibility criteria for expansion requests. Board staff is recommending the changes below to the financial eligibility criterion that considers the financial performance of the charter holder’s Associated Charters.

 

Existing Language

 Proposed Change
75 percent or more of all Associated Charters have no measure rated “Falls Far Below Standard” for the most recent fiscal year presented on the Associated Charters’ dashboards. If one or more Associated Charters are excluded for financial performance purposes, then 100 percent of the remaining Associated Charters must have no measure rated “Falls Far Below Standard” for the most recent fiscal year presented on the Associated Charters’ dashboards.

Based on Current Financial Framework

For the most recent fiscal year presented on the Associated Charters’ dashboards, either 75 percent or more of all Associated Charters have no measure rated “Falls Far Below Standard” or no more than one Associated Charter has a measure rated “Falls Far Below Standard”.

Based on December 2018 Financial Framework

For the most recent fiscal year presented on the Associated Charters’ dashboards, either 75 percent or more of all Associated Charters have not received a summative performance rating of “Intervention” or no more than one Associated Charter has received a summative performance rating of “Intervention”.

 

Posting period: June 4, 2019 – June 24, 2019

Please submit your feedback in writing to the Board during the posting period using one of the following options:

  1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected].
  2. Written comments may be mailed to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005.
  3. Written comments may be delivered to the Board office located at 1616 W. Adams St., Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85007

For all responses, please provide the following information:

  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Mailing address (optional)
  • Organization (optional)

 

Proposed New Financial Performance Dashboard

During the new financial framework’s development, stakeholders repeatedly expressed to the Board’s Financial Framework Subcommittee that the new financial dashboard must be easy to understand and user friendly. Based on these discussions, the Board is releasing a rough mock-up of the proposed financial dashboard for feedback on the proposed descriptions and format (see link below). The proposed financial dashboard is based on the financial performance framework approved by the Board at its December 10, 2018 meeting.

Proposed Financial Dashboard

Posting period: May 1, 2019 – May 31, 2019

Please submit your feedback in writing to the Board during the posting period using one of the following options:

1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected].

2. Written comments may be mailed to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005.

3. Written comments may be delivered to the Board office located at 1616 W. Adams St., Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85007

For all responses, please provide the following information:

  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Mailing address (optional)
  • Organization (optional)

Proposed Revisions to the New Charter Application Instructions 

A.R.S. §15-183 requires that an applicant seeking to establish a charter school shall submit a written application to a proposed sponsor, and that the application, application process and application time frames shall be posted on the sponsor’s website and shall include the following, as specified in the application:

1. A detailed educational plan.

2. A detailed business plan.

3. A detailed operational plan.

4. Any other materials required by the sponsor.

Pursuant to A.A.C. R7-5-201, by March 31 of each year, the Board shall approve and make available on ASBCS Online an application for a new charter for a specified annual application cycle.

As it does each year, Board staff is proposing revisions to the New Charter Application Instructions and Criteria for the FY 2019 application cycle. Many of the changes are technical in nature or intended to increase transparency and clarity for applicants regarding the processes conducted by Board staff and the TRP during the application process. Substantive changes to the presentation of the instructions and evaluation criteria in each section, as well as weighting of the evaluation criteria are also proposed.

Proposed Revisions to the New Charter Application Instructions

Posting period: January 22, 2019–February 10, 2019

Please submit your feedback in writing to the Board during the posting period using one of the following options:

1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected].

2. Written comments may be mailed to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005

3. Written comments may be delivered to the Board office located at 1616 W. Adams St., Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85007

For all responses please provide the following information:

  • First and last name

  • Mailing Address

  • E-mail Address

  • Organization (optional)

Specific-School Academic Goals Recommendations

A.R.S. §15-183(R) requires that in implementing its oversight and administrative responsibilities, the Board must adopt a performance framework that includes “the academic performance expectations of the charter school and the measurement of sufficient progress toward the academic expectations.” The purpose of the Academic Performance Framework (“academic framework”) is to communicate the Board’s academic expectations for ensuring all schools provide a learning environment that will improve pupil achievement and provide an additional academic choice for parents and pupils.

 

In the academic framework, State Accountability is the default indicator used to evaluate the academic performance of all charter schools sponsored by the Board. In addition, this indicator considers state designations for school improvement.

 

The academic framework also recognizes that there are charter schools serving preponderant populations of at-risk students that are not included in the State’s criteria to obtain Alternative School status and has provided an opportunity for those schools to request use of school-specific academic goals in place of State Accountability, as seen in Appendix A of the academic framework. If at least 70% of the students served by a school operated by a charter holder are identified as needing special education services or are homeless, the charter holder may apply to use school-specific academic goals to determine the charter school’s Overall Rating. Board staff is recommending to add a risk factor that takes into consideration a higher than average English Language Learner student population. The Board is requesting feedback from the charter community on this item.

Appendix A: School Specific Academic Goals of the Academic Performance Framework and Guidance

Posting period: December 19, 2018 – January 9, 2019

Please submit your feedback in writing to the Board during the posting period using one of the following options:

1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected].

2. Written comments may be mailed to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, P.O. Box 18328, Phoenix, AZ 85005

3. Written comments may be delivered to the Board office located at 1616 W. Adams St., Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85007

 

For all responses please provide the following information:

  • First and last name
  • Mailing Address
  • E-mail Address
  • Organization (optional)

Rulemaking

COMING SOON!