What is a charter school?
A charter school is an independent public school that is provided a “charter” or performance contract. It enjoys greater levels of autonomy in exchange for greater levels of accountability for performance.

Why create a charter school?
A significant body of research indicates that schools serve their students better when they have authority to make decisions at the school level. Charters provide a legal framework and process for delegating governance, finance, and educational program decisions to qualified schools.

What is a Horace Mann charter school?
A Horace Mann charter school is a Massachusetts independent public school with ties to both a school district and a collective bargaining agent.

What is a Commonwealth charter school?
A Commonwealth charter school is a Massachusetts independent public school that has no direct ties to a school district and which is created without a collective bargaining agent.

What is a collective bargaining agent?
The Barnstable Teachers Association is the collective bargaining agent for teachers who teach in Barnstable Public Schools?

How does a school become a charter school?
Charter schools can be created from scratch or “converted” from district public schools. The Massachusetts Department of Education provides a two-stage process that includes a prospectus and application to become a charter school.

Does a school operate through the conversion process?
Yes, the school continues to operate, while it develops a plan for independent governance, finance, and educational programs. From a parent or student perspective, things will continue as they always have. Teachers and staff will devote more time, with support, to planning a smooth conversion.

What is the prospectus?
Essentially, a prospectus is a school’s case for a charter. The prospectus explains what a school wants to do to improve student achievement outcomes if provided with a charter.

What is the application?
While the prospectus tells the community what a school wants to do, the application provides details on how a school is going to do it and by what measures the school will know when it is succeeding?

How many Horace Mann charter schools are there?
Barnstable has one, the Barnstable Horace Mann charter school. There are six other Horace Mann charter schools in New Bedford, Brockton, Springfield, Boston and Amesbury.

Who runs a Horace Mann charter school?
A board of trustees governs a Horace Mann charter school and, with the district Superintendent, appoints a Principal to run the school. The board is drawn from the school and the community as a whole including parents, staff members and civic leaders.

How is a Horace Mann charter school financed?
The school district provides a Horace Mann charter school with per student funding which is equivalent to what the school received as a district school. This is defined through a “Memorandum of Understanding” between the charter school and the school committee. Charter schools qualify for three years’ of planning and implementation funding from the federal government. Charter schools may also qualify for public and private grants.

How are Horace Mann charter schools held accountable?
All charter schools develop accountability plans which set clear, measurable goals by which the Board and the public can determine if 1) students are learning, 2) the school is a viable organization and 3) the school is true to the promises it made to receive a charter. Charter schools file annual reports against these accountability plans, and have annual site visits from peers and officials from the Massachusetts Department of Education. Every five years, charter schools must seek renewal, which is based upon progress against goals

What happens if a Horace Mann charter school loses its charter?
The governance, finance and educational program decisions revert back to the school committee and the superintendent.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Massachusetts Charter Schools

DEFINITIONS

Q. What is a Commonwealth charter school?
A. A public school that operates independent of any school committee under a five-year charter granted by the Board of Education. It is started by parents, teachers, non-profit organizations, or community leaders. It has the freedom to organize around a core mission, curriculum, theme, or teaching method, and is allowed to control its own budgets, hire (and fire) teachers and staff. In return for this freedom, a charter school must attract students and produce results within five years or have its charter revoked.

Q. What is a Horace Mann charter school?
A. A former district public school or part of a public school that operates under a five-year charter approved by the local school committee, the local teacher's union president, and the Board of Education. To the extent provided by the terms of their charters, Horace Mann charter schools may be exempt from local collective bargaining agreements provided that employees of the school will remain members of the local collective bargaining unit, continue to accrue seniority, and will receive, at minimum, the salary and benefits established by the local collective bargaining agreement.

Application process

Q. Who may apply for a charter?
A. Any person, group, or entity may apply for a public school charter except for-profit companies and private schools. A Horace Mann application must have the approval of the local teacher's union president and the school committee's chairperson in order to be valid.

Q. How many charters are available?
A. Seventeen (17) Commonwealth charters and twenty-seven (27) Horace Mann charters will be available in the 2001-2002 application cycle. The charter school statute also allows the Board of Education to grant an additional four Commonwealth charters per-year that are focused on disruptive students. Bear in mind that only those applications that meet the criteria will be awarded charters; therefore, not necessarily all of the charters that are available will be granted.

Q. If we miss the September deadline for the prospectus, can we still submit a final application in November?
A. No. Only those applications submitted by the September deadline that pass muster will be invited by the Commissioner of Education to submit a final application in November.

Q. How many charters will be awarded in February?
A. Seventeen (17) Commonwealth charters and twenty-seven (27) Horace Mann charters will be available in the 2001-2002 application cycle. The charter school statute also allows the Board of Education to grant an additional four Commonwealth charters per-year that are focused on disruptive students. The Board of Education will award only as many charters as there are applications that merit them.

Q. Is there any limit to the number of charter schools that can be established in a given city or town?
A. New legislation limits the number of charters the Board of Education can grant as follows:
* In any one year, the board may approve one regional commonwealth charter school application in a district where overall student performance on the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) is in the top 10% in the preceding year.
* The Board of Education may not approve a commonwealth charter in any community with a population of less than 30,000 unless it is a regional charter school.
* At least three charters approved in any year must be granted for charter schools located in districts where overall student performance on the MCAS is at or below the statewide average in the preceding year.

There is a limit on how much of a school district's budget can go to Commonwealth charter schools. Under the law, no school district's total charter school tuition payment to Commonwealth charter schools can exceed 9 percent of said district's net school spending. Currently, several districts are at or approaching their cap for charter tuition spending (page 64). Please contact the Department of Education's Charter School Office for further information if you have questions in regard to your specific district, and see the Department's web site for updates on possible changes in legislation, www.doe.mass.edu.

Q. Will the Board of Education give preference to certain kinds of applications?
A. The Board of Education will give preference to applications showing the greatest probability of creating public schools of the highest standard. The Board of Education also may give preference to applications for schools located in low-performing districts. Under the law, the Board may also give preference to applications that have broad community support, propose an innovative educational plan, or evince a commitment to assisting the district in which it is located bring about educational change.

Q. Who will review and evaluate charter school applications?
A. Each charter school application will be reviewed by staff of the Department of Education as well as review panels with education, business, financial, legal, and organizational expertise. The Commissioner of Education will make final recommendations to the Board of Education regarding the award of charters.

Q. What role do reviewers play in the application process?
A. The role of reviewers is solely advisory. Teams of reviewers - current and former teachers, researchers, charter school founders, Department of Education staff , school, business, and public policy leaders - evaluate the applications against the criteria included under each section of the application. The questions and deficiencies raised by review teams regarding applications are recorded and serve as the basis of the applicant group interviews.

Q. How much weight will be given to written comments from superintendents and testimony at public hearings?
A. All public comment, including written comment from superintendents, will be considered in the review process. Written opposition alone, however, it is not reasonable grounds for denial of a charter. Similarly, strong public support alone does not constitute reasonable grounds for granting a charter. Any substantial issues raised that demonstrate deficiencies in a specific application as measured against the standard criteria will be taken into account and raised during the applicant group's interview with the Department.

Q. By what point in the application process should an applicant secure a facility?
A. Applicants may identify a potential facility for which a lease or purchase agreement has been explored or may describe the process by which the school will identify such viable options. Be advised that applicants who enter into lease or purchase agreements in advance of receiving a charter from the Board of Education do so at their own risk.

Q. On what grounds may a charter application be denied?
A. Applications that are submitted after the deadline or are incomplete will be immediately rejected. Further, applications that do not meet the criteria listed in the application, as corroborated in the final interview, will be denied. Examples of elements that would constitute failure as measured against these criteria: vague, muddled, or jargon-filled applications; discriminatory procedures or intentions; low-level learning standards; lack of commitment to accountability; a school design or education program that is commonplace; founders without the necessary experience, resources, or wherewithal to start a school; weak or scant evidence that there is demand for the school; and, weak or scant evidence that a charter is needed in order for the program to exist or succeed.

Q. Can the Board of Education's decisions on charter applications be appealed?
A. No. A decision of the Board of Education on a charter application is final. The application process leading up to the Board's decision has been designed to afford applicants and others opportunities to clarify misunderstandings related to an application or to make the case for - or against - the award of a charter. Applicants who are not awarded a charter in 2002 may reapply the following year.

Q. Are preferences given to applications for schools that plan to start their school year in September 2002?
A. No. Starting a school from scratch is a tremendous undertaking and an extraordinary opportunity. Experience has shown that taking time to carefully develop a school's design, establish academic standards, create policies, engage in Board development activities, and recruit staff, well in advance of the demands that ensue once a school is up and running, can be a tremendous advantage.

Funding

Q. How are Commonwealth charter schools funded?
A. For each child a Commonwealth charter school enrolls, it receives a sum from the state equal to the average cost per student in the school district in which that child resides 1. The state then deducts the same amount from the sending district's state aid account. (School districts, however, receive additional state funds in order to partially or fully "reimburse" them for losses to charter schools.) Like other public schools, Commonwealth charter schools are eligible to receive federal and state program funds.

Q. How are Horace Mann charter schools funded?
A. Funding for a Horace Mann charter school comes directly from the school district in which the school is located. An application for a Horace Mann school will specify a total budget allocation the school committee has approved for the school in its first year. Each year thereafter, the Board of Trustees of a Horace Mann school will submit a budget request for the following fiscal year to the superintendent. Under the law, a Horace Mann charter school cannot receive less than it would have under the district's standard budgetary allocation rules. A school may appeal a disproportionately small budget allocation to the Commissioner of Education. Depending on the terms of its charter, a Horace Mann school may receive its share of federal and state program funds from the district or it will be eligible to receive the funds directly.

Q. Will charter recipients be given start-up funding?
A. The Department of Education cannot guarantee that charter recipients will receive start-up funding. However, in past years, charter recipients have received modest start-up funds from the federal government's charter school grant program. The availability of future start-up funding is contingent upon continued support from this program or new state appropriations. A number of charter schools have also received start-up funding from non-governmental sources.

Q. Are charter schools eligible for School Building Assistance funds?
A. The charter school statute states that "no school building assistance funds shall be awarded to a commonwealth charter school for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, or improving said school." However, the Massachusetts Legislature has included a facilities grant for charter schools as a line item in the Commonwealth's budget. This is a non-competitive grant that all Commonwealth charters are eligible to receive. Horace Mann charter schools, however, are not eligible for the State facilities grant.

Q. How are schools reimbursed for transportation?
A. There are three mechanisms in place for charter schools to receive reimbursement for costs associated with transporting children to school. The first reimbursement mechanism is applicable for the transportation of children residing in the district in which the charter school is located. If a charter school chooses to provide transportation for their students, they are eligible for transportation reimbursement from the local school district only for the students for whom the charter school is accruing transportation costs, and who are eligible for transportation according to the local school district's transportation policy. Furthermore, a recent change in the charter school statute expanded reimbursement eligibility to regional charter schools transporting children that reside outside of the district in which the charter school is located, but within the boundaries of the charter school's regional designations. Schools will be reimbursed, subject to appropriation, the year prior to that in which costs were incurred. Lastly, the Department of Education administers a state transportation reimbursement program for low-income children attending charter schools outside of their own school district. To be eligible for such reimbursement, a child must be attending a charter school outside of their own school district and be eligible for free or reduced lunch. For more information regarding this program please refer to the Department's School Finance Website, which can be found at www.doe.mass.edu.

Q. Are charter schools entitled to federal funds?
A. Yes. Charter schools are eligible for federal funds such as Special Education, Title I, and Safe and Drug Free. Contact the Department of Education Grants Management Department at (781) 338-3000 for more information.
Laws and regulations 2

Q. Do charter schools serve students with special needs?
A. Yes. Charter schools may not discriminate on the basis of mental or physical disability, special need, or academic achievement. Charter schools must comply with the same state and federal laws regarding the provision of special education services that apply to other public schools. The fiscal responsibility for any special needs student requiring a private day or residential school, however, remains with the school district where the student resides.

Q. Are laws and regulations waived for charter schools?
A. Charter schools must follow the same state educational standards, take the same state tests, and abide by virtually all the same laws and regulations as other public schools3. However, Commonwealth charter schools operate without the constraints of local school district rules. They may also operate without collective bargaining agreements. Horace Mann schools, depending on the terms of their charters, may also be free from some local school district rules and some provisions of the local collective bargaining agreement and regulations. Like other public schools charter schools may, for good cause, request waivers from certain regulations.

Q. How do we know if our proposed charter school should serve a region?
A. If the school is intended to enroll students from a number of cities or towns, or would be located in a small and/or rural town, applying for regional status is appropriate. A charter school whose charter designates it regional is authorized to serve - and give preference in enrollment to students residing within - a region made up of more than one municipality. In applying for a regional charter, applicants should specify the districts that make up the region to be served and a rationale for its span.

Q. May we give our applicants an entrance exam?
A. No. State law prohibits a charter school from discriminating in its enrollment process on the basis of academic achievement. Schools may create eligibility thresholds for enrollment that are consistent with their areas of focus or grade levels, but a school's methods for determining eligibility for enrollment - including meetings, interviews, and recommendations - cannot be designed, intended, or used to discriminate on the basis of a child's knowledge or skills. For instance, a charter high school may deny admission to students who have not completed the 8th grade, but it cannot deny admission to students on the basis of their inability to do 8th-grade level work. Diagnostic exams may be given once the students have been enrolled.

Q. Do teachers at charter schools need to be certified or pass the Massachusetts' teacher test?
A. All charter school teachers hired after August 10, 2000 must either be certified or pass the MA educator test. For more information on this or for information on alternative certification, please contact the Department's Office of Educator Quality at 781-338-6600.

Q. What do the new state curriculum frameworks and state tests mean for charter schools?
A. All public schools, including charter schools, must administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests. These tests are based on the curriculum frameworks adopted by the Board of Education. Charter schools must also administer any other assessment the Board may require.

Q. Are for-profit companies allowed to manage charter schools?
A. Yes. Although for-profit education management organizations ("EMO") cannot apply directly for a charter, state law explicitly allows charter school Boards of Trustees to procure education management services from non-profit and for-profit entities. The Board of Education must approve all contracts for Boards of Trustees procuring substantially all educational services from EMO's. If any application for a charter proposes a school that would be managed by a non-profit or for-profit contractor, it should describe why the particular entity was selected and what due diligence the applicant group has performed on said entity, as well as provide a draft of a management contract. If interested, please contact the Charter School Office for a copy of the purchasing section of the Blue Book: An overview of the laws and regulations that charter schools need to know.