Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 10177 - Eligible Applicant

Any Applicant shall be eligible to apply for a grant if all of the following conditions are met:

(a) An approved charter has been awarded and is in place and current at the time of application and without interruption throughout the application review and approval process.

(b) The charter school is in good standing with its chartering authority and is in compliance with the terms of its charter at the time of application submission, and without interruption throughout the term of the grant. The Authority will rely on information from the chartering authority regarding the school's good standing and compliance with the terms of its charter. Charter schools may appeal any response by the chartering authority's staff directly to the chartering authority's governing board. Charter schools have 60 days to cure any noncompliance deficiency identified by the charter authorizer. It shall be the charter school's responsibility, and not the Authority's, to ensure that the good standing and compliance response letter is received by the relevant deadline.

(c) The charter school has completed at least one school year of instructional operations under its current County-District-School (CDS) Code and charter number issued by the CDE at the time of application.

(d) If a district-dependent charter school, the school can demonstrate operational and financial autonomy from its authorizing district.

(1) Staff will use specific criteria to assess the charter school's degree of autonomy including, but not limited to, the following:

a. Governance Structure (e.g., governing board or entity as described in the school's charter):

i. Is elected or appointed independently of the chartering authority;

ii. Includes less than a majority of the current employees or appointees of the chartering authority; and

iii. Operates as and/or is operated by a nonprofit public benefit corporation.

b. Operations: The charter school governing board or entity as described in the school's charter maintains control over a majority of its operations (e.g., professional development, school year calendar, disciplinary policies and procedures, curriculum, graduation requirements, etc.).

c. Staffing:

i. Teachers and staff are employees of the charter school.

ii. The charter school retains a majority of decision making authority of all hiring, dismissal, work rule, employee assignment, and other personnel decisions and actions.

iii. The charter school governing board or entity as described in the school's charter has adopted its own employment policies and procedures.

d. Financial Decisions: The charter school governing board or entity as described in the school's approved charter exhibits control over the development and adoption of the charter school's budget, the receipt and expenditure of funds, business management ("back-office") services, audit services, purchasing and contracting decisions, and other financial matters in general.

(2) Staff will review operational and financial documents related to the applicant charter school to determine autonomy on a case-by-case basis. When evaluating the relationship between a charter school and its authorizing district, staff may request any or all of the following:

a. Audits;

b. County treasury reports;

c. Fund 09 Reports;

d. Governing Board structure and member lists;

e. District and school employee lists;

f. Other documents as may be determined necessary by the Authority on a case-by-case basis.

(e) The charter school is not a current subgrantee at the time of commencement of the grant period (September of each funding year).

(f) At least eighty percent (80%) of the instructional time offered by the charter school shall be at the school site, and the charter school shall attain an ADA rate of at least eighty percent (80%) based on the school's most recent CALPADS or CBEDS report.

(g) The charter school is established pursuant to Education Code section 47600, et seq., and also meets the federal definition of charter school as defined in section 5210(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 USCA section 7221(i)), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

(h) The charter school admits students by public lottery in the event more students want to attend the school than the school can accommodate and this process is outlined in the school's charter agreement.

(i) The charter school is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Authority that costs are eligible pursuant to Section 10178.

(j) The charter school is in compliance with all other programs administered by the Authority, where applicable. Where an educational management organization (EMO) or parent organization has submitted an application on behalf of a charter school, the compliance of affiliate charter schools within the EMO or parent organization is not a requirement.

(k) The charter school shall not operate as, or be operated by, a for-profit corporation, a for-profit educational management organization, or a for-profit charter organization.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 10177

1. New section filed 6-27-2005 as an emergency; operative 6-27-2005 (Register 2005, No. 26). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-25-2005 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. New section refiled 10-17-2005 as an emergency; operative 10-17-2005 (Register 2005, No. 42). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-14-2006 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-17-2005 order, including amendment of subsection (b), transmitted to OAL 2-8-2006 and filed 3-24-2006 (Register 2006, No. 12).
4. Amendment of subsections (b)-(c) filed 4-19-2007; operative 4-19-2007 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2007, No. 16).
5. Amendment of subsections (a)-(c), repealer of subsection (d) and subsection relettering filed 3-24-2008; operative 4-23-2008 (Register 2008, No. 13).
6. Amendment of subsection (d) filed 3-23-2009; operative 4-22-2009 (Register 2009, No. 13).
7. Amendment of subsections (b) and (d) filed 3-25-2010; operative 4-24-2010 (Register 2010, No. 13).
8. New subsection (h) filed 2-22-2012; operative 3-23-2012 (Register 2012, No. 8).
9. New subsections (d) and (j), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (e)-(f) and amendment of NOTE filed 4-9-2015; operative 4-9-2015 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2015, No. 15).
10. Amendment filed 11-29-2017; operative 1-1-2018 (Register 2017, No. 48).
11. Amendment of subsections (a) and (f) filed 7-26-2018; operative 7-26-2018 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2018, No. 30).
12. New subsection (k) filed 6-20-2019; operative 6-20-2019 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2019, No. 25).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 17179 and 17180, Education Code. Reference: Section 17180, Education Code.

1. New section filed 6-27-2005 as an emergency; operative 6-27-2005 (Register 2005, No. 26). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-25-2005 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. New section refiled 10-17-2005 as an emergency; operative 10-17-2005 (Register 2005, No. 42). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-14-2006 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-17-2005 order, including amendment of subsection (b), transmitted to OAL 2-8-2006 and filed 3-24-2006 (Register 2006, No. 12).
4. Amendment of subsections (b)-(c) filed 4-19-2007; operative 4-19-2007 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2007, No. 16).
5. Amendment of subsections (a)-(c), repealer of subsection (d) and subsection relettering filed 3-24-2008; operative 4-23-2008 (Register 2008, No. 13).
6. Amendment of subsection (d) filed 3-23-2009; operative 4-22-2009 (Register 2009, No. 13).
7. Amendment of subsections (b) and (d) filed 3-25-2010; operative 4-24-2010 (Register 2010, No. 13).
8. New subsection (h) filed 2-22-2012; operative 3-23-2012 (Register 2012, No. 8).
9. New subsections (d) and (j), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (e)-(f) and amendment of Note filed 4-9-2015; operative 4/9/2015 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2015, No. 15).
10. Amendment filed 11-29-2017; operative 1/1/2018 (Register 2017, No. 48).
11. Amendment of subsections (a) and (f) filed 7-26-2018; operative 7/26/2018 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2018, No. 30).
12. New subsection (k) filed 6-20-2019; operative 6/20/2019 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2019, No. 25).