Charter School Accountability & Autonomy

MONITORING and ACCOUNTABILITY

Crucial aspects of charter public schools are monitoring and accountability, as they are granted autonomy in exchange for being individually responsible for their academic performance. 

To ensure accountability, there are standards, policies, and practices in place. 

• The Missouri Charter Public School Commission follows the National Association of Charter School Authorizer's Principles and Standards for sponsorship. 
• All Commission sponsored schools are held accountable to their charter, performance contract, performance goals, applicable Missouri statues and regulations, Commission Policies, and our Performance Framework.  
• The Commission monitors compliance in a variety of ways including: document review, onsite monitoring, and review of data.  
• Annually the Commission issues an annual report for each school detailing performance in academics, finance, operations, learning environment, and governance. 
• Charter schools in Missouri are also required to go through a renewal process.  As part of this process charter schools must address gaps in any performance areas outlined in the school’s annual report and provide information on expected outcomes, strategies for achieving them, dissemination of best practices.
• At any point in the charter life cycle in The Commission has concerns about a school’s performance in any of the areas outlined above The Commission may exercise its’ Intervention Policy. 
• The ultimate accountability for a charter school if they fail to meet the terms of the contract is school closure. 

INTERVENTION

The Commission believes that good authorizing protects school autonomy and that intervention should only be necessary when a school fails to meet performance levels. Below is a brief summary of the intervention policy.  

• The Commission's interventions aim to change the trajectory of a school's performance while maintaining its autonomy. 
• They follow a path from least to most severe, such as issuing a letter of concern before considering probation or revocation. 
• A letter of concern may be issued if there are missing or untimely submissions, potential threats to student welfare or organization stability. 
• The school must respond and provide evidence of corrective action or a plan to resolve the issues. 
• A breach of contract letter may be sent if multiple sections of the contract are violated. 
• Probation is imposed for non-compliance with action plans, lack of progress, unexpected health/safety/financial issues, or failure to meet conditions after sponsor transfer. 
• These interventions are accompanied by various requirements and may involve external evaluations, testing, and audits.

Click here for the complete Policy 3.02 on Intervention.

RENEWALS

The renewal process for the Missouri Charter Public School Commission (MCPSC) involves a thorough review of school data, progress towards contract goals, and compliance with performance contract. 

The renewal process starts with a statement of intent from the school, followed by an invitation to submit a renewal application. 

The application is reviewed by MCPSC, and a public hearing may be held. 

The application is then submitted to the Missouri State Board of Education (SBOE), who will make the final decision on renewal. 

The renewal application includes a summary of the school's performance, budget projections, enrollment projections, and plans for academics, governance, and operations. 

The school also needs to address any areas of improvement from the previous evaluation. 

There are optional sections for sharing best practices and outlining expansion and replication plans.

APPLY FOR RENEWAL

The best time to think about renewing your charter is the day your application is approved by the State Board of Education. The Commission will assist you in staying on top of changes to your charter, charting your successes and addressing gaps in performance. Innovative school models need to gather important data that will track the impact of the model. These data help families and educators make decisions about joining your school. They inform your governing boards decisions and they compel your sponsor and the State Board of Education to renew or revoke your charter.

Traditional and charter schools will benefit from learning about your best and promising practices that are helping students learn, expanding instructional skills, finding new and effective ways to engage parents and the community, developing successful school leaders.

MCPSC Renewal Narrative Requirements

Please review policies on renewal. Renewal documents answer these three important questions:

• What are the expected outcomes for the next charter term?
• How will you achieve these outcomes over the next charter term? (~8 pages)
• How has your school disseminated best and promising practices to other schools?

Our review of renewal documents asks: 

• Does this plan get this to the results you desire?
• Does the plan serve the student population?
• Are these outcomes both rigorous and realistic?
• Are gaps identified in annual reports, site visits and SQRs addressed?
• Does the plan include ways to secure continuation of successes?
• Are better, best and promising practices included?

Additional Requirements to upload to the online monitoring and accountability tool. 

• Performance Contract Goals for next charter term
• One page executive summary of narrative 
• Enrollment for next Charter Term
• Financials: actual P&L for prior two years, current year's budget, and budget projects aligned to the plan for the first two years of the renewal.  Budgets must include assumptions.

CLOSURE or REVOCATION

School closure/revocation of a charter may be recommended by the Commission staff if a charter school fails to meet the following: 

• Student performance requirements, 
• fiscal management standards, 
• health and safety concerns, 
• required interventions, 
• violates the performance contract, 
• or is convicted of fraud. 

The process involves notifying the governing board and allowing a response within two weeks. 

If no hearing is requested, the Commission votes on revocation, and their decision is final. 

If a hearing is pursued, a specific procedure is followed, including evidence presentations and public comments. 

The Commission makes a final decision within 30 days, which may be appealed to the State Board of Education.

If the charter is revoked, a closure process is initiated to minimize disruption to students' education and protect public funds. Parents are informed of the decision and provided with options for choosing a new school.

Click here to review the complete policy on Closure/Revocation.