Application Handbook
[SUMMER 2009]
Contents
Letter from Mayor Ballard...... 3
Acknowledgements 5
Introduction 6
Questions and Answers about Charter Schools 7
Questions and Answers about Charter Schools in Indiana 9
Application: Guidelines and Procedures 14
Notice of Disclosure 15
Application and Review Process 15
Timeline for Application Process 18
Instructions for Letter of Intent 18
Letter of Intent Format 19
Letter of Intent to Apply for a Charter 20
Instructions for Prospectus 22
Contents of the Prospectus 22
Prospectus Format 23
Prospectus Deadline 23
Prospectus Narrative Outline 24
Evaluation of Applicants with an Existing Design 31
Evaluation of Operating Charter School Applicants 33
Instructions for the Full Application 39
Full Application Format 40
Full Application Deadline 40
Full Application Narrative Outline 41
Appendix 1: Instructions for Leadership Information 54
Appendix 2: Application Forms and Templates 56
Appendix 3: Technical Requirements Checklist 68
Appendix 4: Instructions for Development of School-Specific Goals 69
Appendix 5: Prospectus Submission Requirements...... 75
Appendix 6: Full Application Submission Requirements 76
Appendix 7: Resources 77
June 2009
Dear Charter School Applicant:
Thank you for your interest in creating a charter school in Indianapolis.
The charter school movement began in 1991 with the promise of offering new, high-quality public school options for children and families. The charter school design gives educators more flexibility and freedom from regulation in exchange for a high level of accountability. The sector has grown to over 4,300 schools in 40 states, including the District of Columbia, serving more than 1.2 million students, or approximately 3 percent of all public school children.
Indiana serves as a key player in the national charter school movement. In May 2001, Governor Frank O’Bannon signed a law that enabled educators, parents and others across Indiana to create charter schools. Indiana’s charter school legislation is designed to offer students, families and educators different and innovative choices in public education to reach and serve diverse populations of students. Public school reform advocates have heralded our charter legislation as a strong law that provides opportunities for real innovation and student achievement in our public school classrooms.
One of the unique advantages of Indiana’s legislation is that the Mayor of Indianapolis is allowed to sponsor charter schools in Marion County. In response, my office has designed a comprehensive application review and monitoring process that holds applicants to high standards. In so doing, we have drawn from the experiences of successful charter school sponsors and the research of experts from across the country. Through this process, we closely scrutinize charter school proposals to ensure well thought-out plans, the highest academic standards, and accessibility to all children in Indiana. The selection criteria also leaves the door open for applicants proposing to try approaches that are new and highly likely to work with their target populations. To advise me on the selection of the most qualified applicants, I appointed the Mayor’s Charter School Advisory Board, consisting of experienced local educators and community leaders.
We hope this year to receive applications from promising organizers offering compelling visions and thoughtful plans for improving the educational achievement and lives of a broad range of students. If you believe that you have a fully-developed charter school proposal that meets the highest standards of excellence for our children, we look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact my Charter Schools Director, Karega Rausch, at 317.327.3602. We look forward to working with all members of our community to continue the charter school movement’s success.
Sincerely,
Gregory A. Ballard
Mayor
City of Indianapolis
Acknowledgements
We appreciate ideas from the applications of the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools Board, the Charter School Institute of the State University of New York and the Massachusetts Department of Education, and resources developed by New American Schools and the New Schools Venture Fund. We also greatly appreciate the considerable contributions that Bryan Hassel, Paul Herdman, Sejal Doshi, Michelle Godard Terrell, and Amy Way made to the development of this application and thank all of those who have reviewed the application. We also extend our special thanks to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation for their support and contributions.
Introduction
Charter schools are secular, tuition-free public schools that are freed from many of the regulations governing traditional schools. In exchange for controlling their own curricula, staffing, organization and budgets, charter schools must meet the highest academic standards.
Indiana's charter schools law presents educators, parents and others with a tremendous opportunity to design new public schools. With this opportunity, however, comes tremendous responsibility. In our efforts to create cutting-edge schools, we must ensure that charter schools welcome and serve all students.
The application process designed by the Mayor’s Office is intended to scrutinize proposed charter schools closely. The Mayor will only grant charters to those applicants who seek to establish effective education programs with the highest academic standards and to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to overcome traditional barriers to schools of choice, such as access to transportation and information. Each year the Mayor is authorized to issue five new charters. Indiana law also permits the Mayor to carry over to subsequent years any unused charters.
The Mayor has the ultimate decision-making authority when granting charters through his office. The Mayor’s office has gone to great lengths to create an open and transparent application review process based on the explicit criteria set forth in this application packet. However, other factors may also influence the Mayor’s final decisions. These factors may include the composition of the current applicant pool relative to the charters already granted, as well as the diversity of the pool relative to such attributes as school size, geographic location, and educational approach.
The Mayor has appointed a Charter Schools Advisory Board comprised of experienced educators and community leaders to review charter applications and make recommendations about approval. Information about the members of this Board can be found on our website at www.indy.gov/mayor/charter.
This packet is designed to help potential applicants navigate the charter school application process. You will find several pages of answers to frequently asked questions regarding charter schools and the Indianapolis application process. Following the "Questions and Answers About Charter Schools" section, the guidelines and timeline for the completion of all the steps of the application process are detailed.
Required background check and assurances forms as well as templates for a five-year budget and a first-year cash flow budget can be found immediately after the various application guidelines. Finally, for your reference, Internet links to the state charter school statute and other helpful resources are attached.
If you need assistance, please contact the Indianapolis Charter Schools Assistant Director, at 317-327-7458 or .
Questions and Answers about Charter Schools
What are charter schools?
Charter schools are secular, tuition-free public schools that are freed from many of the regulations governing traditional schools. They control their own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this freedom, they must maximize student potential and meet and exceed Indiana’s new academic standards.
Are charter schools considered “public” schools?
Yes. A public school is defined as a school that is open to the public, funded by the public and accountable to the public. Charter schools meet all three tests.
How do charter schools differ from traditional public schools?
Charter schools differ from traditional public schools in that they are established by teachers, principals, education experts and/or parents, and are exempt from many state and school district regulations, making them essentially autonomous in their operation. Also, students who attend charter schools do so by choice; likewise, educators who teach at charter schools do so by choice. Finally, charter schools can be closed for producing unsatisfactory results.
What is a charter?
The “charter” is a performance contract that an organizer (as defined in the Indiana charter school law I.C. 20-5.5) enters into with a sponsor, such as the Mayor, a public university, or a local school corporation, that explains what the school will attempt to accomplish, how student performance will be measured and what level of achievement it will attain. An organizer that fails to comply with the terms of its charter may have its charter revoked.
Can anyone attend a charter school?
Yes. Like other public schools, charter schools must be open to every child regardless of race, religion, disability or academic ability. However, many charter schools have specific educational purposes focusing on particular topics or students with particular needs.
How many charter schools are there in the United States?
Nearly 3,000 new schools have been launched since state legislatures began passing charter legislation in the 1990s. And nearly 16,000 students attend 49 tuition-free, public charter schools in Indiana.
Do charter schools serve special population students?
Like all public schools, charter schools are required to provide access and services to all students, including students with disabilities and those who are limited English proficient.
Are charter schools diverse?
Yes. Nationwide, students in charter schools have similar demographic characteristics to students in all public schools. However, charter schools in some states serve significantly higher percentages of minority or economically-disadvantaged students.
May a charter school be religious in nature?
No. As with other public schools, charter schools must be non-religious in their programs, admissions policies, governance, employment practices and all other operations, and the charter school’s curriculum must be completely secular. However, like other public schools, charter schools may enter into partnerships with any community group for secular purposes. For additional information on religion and public schools, please visit www.ed.gov/inits/religionandschools/publications.html and www.uscharterschools.org/pdf/fr/cspguidance04.pdf.
Why do organizations and individuals start charter schools?
Nationally, nearly two-thirds of newly created charter schools seek to realize an alternative vision of public school education. Others are founded primarily to serve a special target population of students. More than one-third of pre-existing public schools reported converting to charter status in order to gain autonomy from district and state regulations.
Must charter schools comply with federal laws and regulations?
Generally speaking, public charter schools are subject to many of the same federal, constitutional, statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to other public schools, including laws governing special education and the provision of instruction to students who have limited English proficiency. However, the precise application of these laws depends on the status of the charter school under the specific provisions of federal law and the state charter schools legislation. For information on how federal civil rights laws apply to charter schools, please visit www.uscharterschools.org/pdf/fr/civil_rights.pdf.
Questions and Answers about Charter Schools in Indiana
What is the intent of Indiana’s charter schools legislation?
Indiana’s charter schools legislation is designed to provide innovative and autonomous public educational programs that carry out five primary purposes:
1. Serve the different learning styles and needs of public school students;
2. Offer public school students appropriate and innovative choices;
3. Afford varied opportunities for professional educators;
4. Allow public schools freedom and flexibility in exchange for exceptional levels of accountability; and
5. Provide parents, students, community members and local entities with an expanded opportunity for involvement in the public school system.
Who has authority to grant charters in Indiana?
Local school corporations, public universities, and the Mayor of Indianapolis have this authority.
How many charter schools can be authorized?
Unlike many states, Indiana’s legislation does not place a limit on the number of charter schools that can open in the State. However, state law does restrict the number of charter schools that can be sponsored by the Mayor of Indianapolis. Each year, the Mayor is authorized to issue five new charters. Indiana law also permits the Mayor to carry over to subsequent years any unused charters.
How many students attend public charter schools in Indiana?
As of the 2008-09 school year, Indiana has 49 charter schools serving 15, 581 students. Charter school enrollment has increased an average of 2,300 student per year with a growth rate of nearly 175 percent. With more than 1,000 students on Indianapolis charter school wait lists, demand is high.
Where may charter schools sponsored by the Mayor of Indianapolis be located?
Charter schools sponsored by the Mayor of Indianapolis must be located within the “consolidated city,” which includes all of Marion County except for the territory comprising the cities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport and the town of Speedway.
Who is eligible to organize a charter school in Indianapolis?
Any group or entity that (a) has been determined by the IRS to be operating under not-for-profit status (likely as a 501(c)(3) organization) or has applied for such determination and (b) whose organizational documents (articles of incorporation) include a provision that upon dissolution all remaining assets (other than funds received from the Indiana State Department of Education which must be returned to the State Department of Education) must be used for non-profit educational purposes. This may require
establishment of new or separate entities by existing non-profit corporations whose current purpose is broader than education.
Can charters be awarded to private educational management organizations (EMOs)?
No. Charters can only be awarded to non-profit organizations. However, charter school governing boards can contract out the educational services of a charter school to an EMO. These contracts are subject to approval by the Mayor’s Office.
What students attend charter schools?
Indiana law requires that charter schools be open to any student, and thus charter schools cannot impose admission criteria. However, one of the purposes of Indiana's charter schools law is to encourage the development of schools that serve the different learning styles and needs of public school students and thus offer public school students innovative choices. Accordingly, charter schools may be established with special emphasis on a particular subject matter or to serve specific targeted student populations.
Even if a charter school has a special focus, each charter school will be responsible for reaching out to all parts of the community. In the event that more students apply to attend a charter school than the school can accommodate, students will be selected randomly (except for preferences for siblings).