Renewals

The renewal of a charter school to continue operating in NC requires many steps in a two-year process. The process consists of a self-study, OCS school renewal visit, interviews, and Charter School Advisory Board review before recommendations are made to the State Board of Education. This section will provide you with the necessary information that renewing schools may want to consider when renewing their charter.

Per NC General Statute 115C-218.5(d) and 115C-218.6, the State Board of Education (SBE) may grant the initial charter for a period not to exceed 10 years. The State Board of Education shall renew a charter upon the request of the chartering entity for subsequent periods of 10 years, unless one of the following applies:

1. The charter school has not provided financially sound audits for the immediately preceding three years.

2. The charter school's student academic outcomes for the immediately preceding three years have not been comparable to the academic outcomes of the local school administrative unit in which the charter is located.

3. The charter school is not, at the time of the request for renewal of the charter, substantially in compliance with state law, federal law, the school's own bylaws or the provisions set forth in its charter granted by the State Board of Education.

If you intend to seek renewal, you must notify the NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) of your request and be prepared to pay the renewal fee of $500, and complete a charter renewal self-study, as described under the renewal process.

Consistent with SBE policy TCS-U-007, the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Office of Charter Schools will provide the State Board of Education (SBE) with an NC Charter Schools Renewal Report (NCCSRR) that is designed to contain all of the information the SBE will need to evaluate the status of charter schools. The NCCSRR will reference data and reports from various NCDPI sections that may have information pertinent to the evaluation of schools.

 2020 Renewal Schools

Renewal Process

Consistent with SBE policy CHTR 007, the NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) will provide the SBE with a NC Charter Schools Renewal Report (NCCSRR) that is designed to contain all of the information the SBE will need to evaluate the status of your school. The NCCSRR will reference data and reports from various NCDPI divisions: OCS, Financial and Business Services, Accountability, Exceptional Children, Federal Program Monitoring, Child Nutrition, and/or any other division that may have information pertinent to the evaluation of your school. Also part of this report will be information from the charter renewal self-study that your board and school leader will complete. The self-study contains questions related to how you have fulfilled the school's mission, and education program, including the school goals.

The charter renewal fee of $500 is due no later than December 30th of that year.

If you have any questions about the Renewal process, please email Shawnda Cooper.

Renewal Site Visit

As part of your renewal process, Office of Charter School Personnel will be making a site visit to the renewing school, to review the school's progress toward meeting its charter's mission. In these discussions, we may cover any of the following: The current status of the school's educational programs, state testing results, student accountability, exceptional children's services, governance structure, financial plan, and teacher licensure. During the Administration/Board session, it will also be used to discuss any areas of non-compliance. This session will also provide an explanation of the next steps in the renewal process for the school.

In order to get a more complete picture of the school, the Office of Charter Schools will meet with three separate groups. The groups are as follows:

• Administrative/Board Committee: This needs to be composed of the school's leadership personnel and at least one board member, preferably the board chair. (3-6 individuals)

• Staff Committee: This should be composed of at least four instructional staff members, who do not have students enrolled in the school. It is preferable that they represent fairly new members to the staff and also some veteran teachers. We would also like representation from content area subjects as well as elective teachers. (4-6 individuals)

• Parent Committee: This group should be composed of representative parents of current students of the school in terms of grade levels and demographics. Please also include the parents of new students as well as the parents of students who have been with the school for a while. Do not include in this group parents who are also staff members at the school. However, you may include the parent of one graduate, if you choose. (4-8 individuals) 

Timeline

Charter School Renewal process is a two-year process. This timeline will provide you with the process expectations for renewing your charter school.

Renewals: Self-Study

This self-study provides information describing how the school is successfully fulfilling the mission formally approved by the State Board of Education.

Charter School Advisory Board Renewal Rubric

The Charter Schools Advisory Board has adopted the following framework for making renewal recommendations.

Renewals: Assumptions

If a charter school is continually low‑performing, the State Board is authorized to terminate, not renew, or seek applicants to assume the charter through a competitive bid process established by the State Board.

The State Board shall develop rules on the assumption of a charter by a new entity that includes all aspects of the operations of the charter school, including the status of the employees.

The State Board Policy TCS-U-017 details the rules and procedures for the Assumption Process.