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California Department of Education
Charter School Petition Review Form:
Olive Grove Charter School: Buellton
Key Information Regarding Olive Grove Charter School: Buellton(OGCSB)Proposed Grade Span and Build out Plan / Table 1
2017–22Proposed Enrollment
Grade / 2017–18 / 2018–19 / 2019–20 / 2020–21 / 2021–22
Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
1 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
2 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
3 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
4 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
5 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
6 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 3
7 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 3
8 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 3
9 / 4 / 6 / 7 / 9 / 9
10 / 4 / 6 / 7 / 9 / 9
11 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 9 / 9
12 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 12
Total / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 60
Proposed Location / 240 East Highway246, Suite 100
Buellton, CA 93427
Santa Barbara County
Brief History / On April 18, 2017, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District (SYVUHSD) Board of Education voted unanimously to deny the petition of the OGCSB.On May 4, 2017, the Santa Barbara County Board of Education voted unanimously to deny the petition of OGCSB.
Lead Petitioner(s) / Laura Mudge, Executive Director
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Summary of Required Charter Elements Pursuant toCalifornia Education Code(EC)Section 47605(b)
Charter Requirements Pursuant to EC Section 47605(b) / Meets Requirements
Sound Educational Practice(ECSections 47605[b] and [b][1]) / Yes
Ability to Successfully Implement the Intended Program (EC Section 47605[b][2]) / No
Required Number of Signatures (EC Section 47605[b][3]) / Yes
Affirmation of Specified Conditions (EC Sections 47605[b][4] and [d]) / Yes
Exclusive Public School Employer (EC Section 47605[b][6]) / Yes
1 / Description of Educational Program / No
2 / Measurable Pupil Outcomes / No
3 / Method for Measuring Pupil Progress / Yes
4 / Governance Structure / No
5 / Employee Qualifications / *Yes
6 / Health and Safety Procedures / *Yes
7 / Racial and Ethnic Balance / Yes
8 / Admission Requirements / *Yes
9 / Annual Independent Financial Audits / Yes
10 / Suspension and Expulsion Procedures / *Yes
11 / Retirement Coverage / Yes
12 / Public School Attendance Alternatives / Yes
13 / Post-employment Rights of Employees / Yes
14 / Dispute Resolution Procedures / *Yes
15 / Closure Procedures / Yes
Standards, Assessments, and Parent Consultation (EC Sections 47605[c][1] and [2]) / Yes
Effect on Authorizer and Financial Projections (EC Section 47605[g]) / No
Teacher Credentialing (EC Section 47605[l]) / *Yes
Transmission of Audit Report (EC Section 47605[m]) / Yes
Goals to Address the Eight State Priorities (EC Section 47605[b][5][A][ii]) / No
*If approved as a State Board of Education (SBE)-authorized charter school, the petition will require amendments pursuant to California Code of Regulations,
Title 5 (5 CCR)Section 11967.5.1.These amendments must be submitted to the California Department of Education (CDE) by November 15, 2017.
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Requirements for State Board of Education-Authorized Charter Schools
Sound Educational Practice / EC Sections 47605(b) and (b)(1)5 CCR Sections 11967.5.1(a) and (b)
Evaluation Criteria
For purposes of EC Section 47605(b), a charter petition shall be “consistent with sound educational practice” if, in the SBE’s judgment, it is likely to be of educational benefit to pupils who attend. A charter school need not be designed or intended to meet the educational needs of every student who might possibly seek to enroll in order for the charter to be granted by the SBE.
For purposes of EC Section 47605(b)(1), a charter petition shall be “an unsound educational program” if it is either of the following:
(1)A program that involves activities that the SBE determines would present the likelihood of physical, educational, or psychological harm to the affected pupils.
(2)A program that the SBE determines not likely to be of educational benefit to the pupils who attend.
Is the charter petition “consistent with sound educational practice?” / Yes
Comments:
The OGCSB charter petition is consistent with sound educational practice.
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Ability to Successfully Implement the Intended Program / EC Section 47605(b)(2)5 CCR Section 11967.5.1(c)
Evaluation Criteria
For purposes of EC Section 47605(b)(2), the SBE shall take the following factors into consideration in determining whether charter petitioners are "demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program":
- If the petitioners have a past history of involvement in charter schools or other education agencies (public or private), the history is one that the SBE regards as unsuccessful, e.g., the petitioners have been associated with a charter school of which the charter has been revoked or a private school that has ceased operation for reasons within the petitioners’ control.
- The petitioners are unfamiliar in the SBE’s judgment with the content of the petition or the requirements of law that would apply to the proposed charter school.
- The petitioners have presented an unrealistic financial and operational plan for the proposed charter school (as specified).
- The petitioners personally lack the necessary background in the following areas critical to the charter school’s success, and the petitioners do not have a plan to secure the services of individuals who have the necessary background in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and finance and business management.
Are the petitioners able to successfully implement the intended program? / No
Comments:
The OGCSB petitioner has presented an unrealistic financial and operational plan for the proposed charter school.
The OGCSB petition states that the charter school will be governed by a corporate Board of Directors in accordance with its adopted Bylaws, which shall be consistent with the terms of this charter, and that the corporate Board of Directors holds ultimate authority for the charter school’s operations and activities, subject to the limitations of the California Corporations Code, Articles of Incorporation, Board-adopted Bylaws, charter, charter school policies, and other applicable provisions of federal and state law (Attachment 3, p. 35). The petition further states that the Board of Directors is responsible for the operation and fiscal affairs of the charter school’s annual budget (Attachment 3, p. 36). The CDE notes that the budget narrative asserts that due to the recent Anderson USD v. Shasta Secondary Home School (2016) 4 Cal. 262 (Anderson) court decision regarding independent study programs in Shasta County, the Board of Directors is now adopting a Charter Management Organization (CMO) model of governance that will consolidate the various charters within Santa Barbara County.
However, the description of the governance structure in the OGCSB petition does not reflect the adoption of, nor the description of how, OGCSB intends to operate as a CMO. Additionally, the CMO structure is not described in the Articles of Incorporation nor the Board-adopted Bylaws.
The OGCSB petition documents include a multi-year financial plan which will be based on revenues earned and recognized at the school level and expenses recognized at the CMO level, then allocated to the charter school based on a pro-rata share of revenues for each Olive Grove Charter School, Incorporated (OGCS) charter school.The OGCSB petition states that OGCS will operate as an independent/home study school. As a nonclassroom-based charter school, OGCSB’s revenues are primarily dependent on a determination of funding approved by the SBE. The CDE finds that the OGCSB financial plan violates the nonclassroom-based determination of funding provisions, which require that the funding determination be based on OGCSB’s actual expenditures, not a pro-rata share of OGCSB’s revenues. As a result, the proposed operational plan in the area of financial administration jeopardizes the fiscal viability of the charter school.
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Required Number of Signatures / EC Section 47605(b)(3)5 CCR Section 11967.5.1(d)
Evaluation Criteria
For purposes of EC Section 47605(b)(3), a charter petition that “does not contain the number of signatures required by [law]” …,shall be a petition that did not contain the requisite number of signatures at the time of its submission…
Does the petition contain the required number of signatures at the time of its submission? / Yes
Comments:
The OGCSB petition contains the required number of teacher signatures (Attachment 5, pp. 1–7).
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Affirmation of Specified Conditions / ECSections47605(b)(4) and (d)5 CCR Section 11967.5.1(e)
Evaluation Criteria
For purposes of EC Section 47605(b)(4), a charter petition that "does not contain an affirmation of each of the conditions described in (EC Section 47605[d])"…,shall be a petition that fails to include a clear, unequivocal affirmation of each such condition. Neither the charter nor any of the supporting documents shall include any evidence that the charter will fail to comply with the conditions described in EC Section 47605(d).
(1)[A] charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall not charge tuition, and shall not discriminate against a pupil on the basis of disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 422.55 of the California Penal Code. Except as provided in paragraph (2), admission to a charter school shall not be determined according to the place of residence of the pupil, or of his or her parent or guardian, within this state, except that any existing public school converting partially or entirely to a charter school under this part shall adopt and maintain a policy giving admission preference to pupils who reside within the former attendance area of that public school. / Yes
(2)(A)A charter school shall admit all pupils who wish to attend theschool.
(B) However, if the number of pupils who wish to attend the charter school exceeds the school's capacity, attendance, except for existing pupils of the charter school, shall be determined by a public random drawing. Preference shall be extended to pupils currently attending the charter school and pupils who reside in the district except as provided for in EC Section 47614.5. Other preferences may be permitted by the chartering authority on an individual school basis and only if consistent with the law.
(C)In the event of a drawing, the chartering authority shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the growth of the charter school and, in no event, shall take any action to impede the charter school from expanding enrollment to meet pupil demand. / Yes
(3)If a pupil is expelled or leaves the charter school without graduating or completing the school year for any reason, the charter school shall notify the superintendent of the school district of the pupil’s last known address within 30 days, and shall, upon request, provide that school district with a copy of the cumulative record of the pupil, including a transcript of grades or report card, and health information. This paragraph applies only to pupils subject to compulsory full-time education pursuant to EC Section 48200. / Yes
Does the charter petition contain the required affirmations? / Yes
Comments:
The OGCSB charter petition contains the required affirmations, however, it is not signed. The signed affirmation can be found in the appendices(Attachment 5, pp. 9–11).
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Exclusive Public School Employer / EC Section 47605(b)(6)5 CCR Section 11967.5.1(f)(15)
Evaluation Criteria
The declaration of whether or not the district shall be deemed the exclusive public school employer of the employees of the charter school for the purposes of the Educational Employment Relations Act (Chapter 10.7 [commencing with Section 3540] of Division 4 of Title 1 of the California Government Code), as required by EC Section 47605(b)(6), recognizes that the SBE is not an exclusive public school employer and that, therefore, the charter school must be the exclusive public school employer of the employees of the charter school for the purposes of the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA).
Does the petition include the necessary declaration? / Yes
Comments:
The OGCSB petition includes the necessary declaration (Attachment 3, p. 75).
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The 15 Charter Elements
1. Description of Educational Program / EC Section 47605(b)(5)(A)5 CCR Section 11967.5.1(f)(1)
Evaluation Criteria
The description of the educational program…, as required by EC Section 47605(b)(5)(A), at a minimum:
(A)Indicates the proposed charter school’s target student population, including, at a minimum, grade levels, approximate numbers of pupils, and specific educational interests, backgrounds, or challenges. / No
(B)Specifies a clear, concise school mission statement with which all elements and programs of the school are in alignment and which conveys the petitioners' definition of an "educated person” in the twenty-first century, belief of how learning best occurs, and goals consistent with enabling pupils to become or remain self-motivated, competent, and lifelong learners. / Yes
(C)Includes a framework for instructional design that is aligned with the needs of the pupils that the charter school has identified as its target student population. / No
(D)Indicates the basic learning environment or environments (e.g., site-based matriculation, independent study, community-based education, technology-based education). / Yes
(E)Indicates the instructional approach or approaches the charter school will utilize, including, but not limited to, the curriculum and teaching methods (or a process for developing the curriculum and teaching methods) that will enable the school’s pupils to master the content standards for the four core curriculum areas adopted by the SBE pursuant to EC Section 60605 and to achieve the objectives specified in the charter. / *Yes
(F)Indicates how the charter school will identify and respond to the needs of pupils who are not achieving at or above expected levels. / Yes
(G)Indicates how the charter school will meet the needs of pupils with disabilities, English learners, pupils achieving substantially above or below grade level expectations, and other special student populations. / Yes
(H)Specifies the charter school’s special education plan, including, but not limited to, the means by which the charter school will comply with the provisions of EC Section 47641, the process to be used to identify pupils who qualify for special education programs and services, how the school will provide or access special education programs and services, the school’s understanding of its responsibilities under law for special education pupils, and how the school intends to meet those responsibilities. / *Yes
Does the petition overall present a reasonably comprehensive description of the educational program? / No
Comments:
The OGCSB petition does not present a reasonably comprehensive description of the educational program (Attachment 3, pp. 8–24). The CDE finds that the petition does not indicate the proposed OGCSB’s target pupil population and their specific educational interests and backgrounds. The educational program presented does not take into consideration the demographics of the student population within the community of Buellton. Additionally, the OGCSB petition to establish a new charter school is identical to three other petitions to establish new charter schools in three different communities in Santa Barbara County, all submitted by the same petitioner.
Background
On May 23, 2017, the CDE received the OGCSB petition to establish a charter school located in the SYVUHSD within Santa Barbara County and under the governance of OGCS, a California nonprofit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation.
Additionally, on May 23, 2017, the CDE received three additional OGCS petitions to establish new charter schools under the authorization of the SBE. Each of these petitions propose to establish charter schools in three different districts all of which are located in Santa Barbara County. Each proposed charter school intends to serve a different community with different demographic populations. In reviewing each of the four charter school petitions, the CDE found that the four petitions were identical with regard to the required charter elements. These petitions did not take into account the specific demographic information of the pupils or the specific community the charter school intends to serve. The OGCSB petition states that it is anticipated that the pupils currently enrolled in the Olive Grove Charter (OGC)-Buellton resource center will continue with OGCSB (Attachment 3, p. 2). Therefore, the CDE finds that the petitioner should have included the known demographic pupil and community data in the petitions submitted to the CDE.
The following Website, provides demographic information for each of the communities which these proposed schools will serve. The demographics vary and will likely have an impact on the educational program provided at each school. As an example, the percentage of English learner (EL) pupils could be much higher in the community of Santa Maria than in the community of Buellton, as Spanish is the language spoken at home in 63.4 percent of households in Santa Maria. In Buellton, Spanish is the language spoken at home in 19.3 percent of households. Yet the goals, actions and services for each charter school are identical in each of the petitions.
Additionally, the four petitions received have a title page with the proposed new charter school OGCSB, OGCS: Lompoc, OGCS: Orcutt/Santa Maria, and OGCS: Santa Barbara; however, the petitions all contain the following statement in Legal Affirmations and Assurances (Attachment 3, p. 5):
As the authorized lead petitioner, I, Laura Mudge, hereby certify that the information submitted in this petition for a California public charter school to be named Olive Grove Charter School: Buellton (“OGCS” or the “Charter School”), and to be located within the boundaries of the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District (SYVUHSD or the “District”).
The CDE notes that this statement is the same as in the OGC petition authorized by the CDE in 2015. Additionally, the CDE notes that throughout the OGCSB petition, there are no references to OGCSB but rather references only to OGCS or the Charter School.
OGCSB is currently operating as a resource center of OGC located in the Cuyama Joint Unified School District in New Cuyama, Santa Barbara County, California. OGC is an SBE-authorized school. OGCSB is one of four resource centers located in Santa Barbara County tied to OGC and seeking authorization due to the ruling in the appeal of Anderson. The OGC-Buellton resource center is located in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District in Santa Barbara County and is not located in the Cuyama Joint Unified School District. The OGC Buellton resource center is not compliant with EC Section 47605(a)(1).
The OGCSB petition proposes to establish a transitional kindergarten (TK) through grade twelve independent/home study (IS) school under the governance of OGCS, Incorporated, a California nonprofit 503(c)(3) public benefit corporation, for parents and pupils seeking an alternative educational option. The OGCSB petition explains that pupils attending OGCSB will participate in an IS, blended learning environment with the parent as the primary deliverer of the educational program with OGCSB providing guidance, support, assistance, and resource materials to enable parents to meet the individual academic needs of their pupil. However, the petition does not address any training that may be available to parents in order for them to effectively facilitate the instructional delivery of the curriculum for which they are responsible.