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Your Questions About Writing & Amending Charters
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This page will be a
place for your questions and our answers about writing &
amending charters. We will post new
information as we receive it. Feel free to ask us a
question by filling out the form below.
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Note:
Should we post a question, we will not identify the writer.
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Q: Can you
clarify transportation of students & charter schools?
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A:
To understand charter school transportation, you have to
first understand the existing transportation law for public
schools. These laws are part of the guidelines for charter
public school transportation. Here are 3 provisions of
current transportation for any public school:
1. RSA
189:6 Transportation of Pupils. – The local school
district shall furnish transportation to all pupils in grade
1 through grade 8 who live more than 2 miles from the school
to which they are assigned. The local school board may
furnish transportation to kindergarten pupils, pupils in
grades above the eighth or to any pupils residing less than
2 miles from the school to which they are assigned, when it
finds that this is appropriate, and shall furnish it when so
directed by the commissioner of education.
Important
point: There is no transportation requirement in New
Hampshire for students in grade 9-12.
2. 189:8
Limitations and Additions. – Pupils entitled to
transportation in accordance with RSA 189:6 may be required
to walk a distance not to exceed one mile to a school bus
stop established by the local school board. Pupils residing
in areas which are inaccessible by a local school district's
established mode of transportation may be required to walk a
distance not to exceed 1- 1/2 miles to a school bus stop,
provided that the vehicle, route and schedule have been
approved by the commissioner of education. School districts
shall assure that pupils shall not be subject to unsafe
conditions while walking the required distance to a school
bus stop and that the school bus stop is established in a
safe location.
Important
point: Safety is a consideration when asking children to
walk to a bus stop.
3. 189:9
Pupils in Private Schools. – Pupils attending approved
private schools, up to and including the twelfth grade,
shall be entitled to the same transportation privileges
within any town or district as are provided for pupils in
public schools.
Important
point: Within any town, students attending a school other
than the public school are entitled to transportation to
that school within that town.
Charter School
Law on Transportation:
IX. Attendance
at a charter school for the purposes of transportation shall
not constitute assignment under the provisions of RSA 189:6
and RSA 189:8. Pupils who reside in the school district
in which the open enrollment or charter school is located
shall be provided transportation to that school by the
district on the same terms and conditions as provided for in
RSA 189:6 and RSA 189:8 and that transportation is provided
to pupils attending other public schools within that
district. However, any added costs for such
transportation services shall be borne by the charter
school. For the purposes of open enrollment, neither the
sending nor the receiving school district shall be
obligated.
Important
Points: Each district treats students attending a charter
school in its town like any other student going to a school
in its town or school district. There is no assignment of
transportation duty to the district if the student chooses
to attend a charter school outside of his/her district.
Also, at the 9-12 level, there is no transportation
requirement in New Hampshire.
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Q: Can local school districts still approve charter
schools in New Hampshire?
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A:
Yes. A charter school can be approved by the local district or
by the state. There are 2 different procedures. To have local
approval, a district needs to have a the legislative body vote
to accept the provisions of this law. Then, proposals can come
forward.
In 6 cities, the city council votes to accept this provision. In
1 city (Concord, the school board votes to accept this
provision. In all other cities and towns, the voters vote to
accept this provision if a warrant article is submitted by
petition or placed on the warrant by the school board.
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Q: Have
any school district passed this provision to accept charter
applications?
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A:
Yes. Tamworth, Pelham, Londonderry, Bedford, Lyme, and other
districts during the mid-1990s more recently Franklin and
Mascoma. The adoption wording is confusing but basically
the vote is to allow proposals to come forward without any
commitment to approve anything. The vote opens the door for
ideas coming forward.
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Q:
What are your guidelines when it comes to teacher certification?
Do you follow the NCLB guidelines?
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A: When the federal NCLB law was written, there was
a decision to leave federal charter school law (which defers to
state charter school law) mostly free of regulation. New
Hampshire's charter school law says that 50% of teachers must be
certified or have 3 years experience teaching. The goal of the
charter school is achievement results, so schools will surely
attempt to locate teachers focused on results. We have 1 special
education school approved and in that school the charter says
all teachers will be experienced and also certified.
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Q: What are New Hampshire's charter school guidelines for
testing? Do you recommend testing in the 3rd, 6th and 10th
grades, and how are the results used?
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A: New Hampshire's charter school statute requires that
the state's test be given in charter schools. Schools must
report their student performance results each year. Charter
school applications have a section for describing the school's
evaluation plan.
The 3rd, 6th, 10th approach may show trends, but does not help
schools really focus on improved learning for individual
students as they move from year to year. It's too late at end of
grade 3 to find out a student didn't learn to read during grades
1 and 2. It's too late to find out in grade 6 that a student
made no learning progress in math during grades 4, 5, and 6.
I recommend much closer following of student achievement--for
many reasons. One is to make sure students are not spending time
on material they have already mastered and can move ahead. So in
areas of literacy --math, reading, writing, spelling-- I
personally would recommend base line screening at the beginning
of the year; updates during the year 2 or 3 x, and a year-end
assessment, translating this into into a finely-tuned plan for
each student's learning that guarantees we really help students
become literate in basic areas before middle school.
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Q: You mentioned new legislative guidelines specifically
requiring an accountability plan based on goals. I would like
something concrete to reference. Are these guidelines
already in the Charter Laws or is there another place to locate
them?
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A:
SB 421 passed this legislative session, effective at time of
passage, bringing with it a revision to charter school law
and a few additional charter school requirements (for
applications and for actual opening of the school). In
addition, the State Board of Education itself developed
certain new policies that now apply to all charter school
approved to open.
There are 2 new
provisions for start-up charter schools: 1) an
accountability plan ready prior to school open (the
school's evaluation and continuation will be based on this
plan--this a good reason to make sure your charter school
goals are clearly written and measurable), and 2)
registration with the Secretary of State. This registration
is not defined so name, address, phone #'s of Board of
Trustees, and name and phone/fax/web site of the school's
facilities are recommended. NH Center for School Reform is
working on a sample registration form.
2. The State
Board of Education is now requiring all initial Board
Trustees to have Criminal History Record Checks prior to the
charter being unconditionally authorized.
For
SB 421
changes, see below.
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Q:
What's the procedure for amending our charter?
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A: The Department of Education is using the following
procedure:
1) the amendment request is submitted in writing to the
Department of Education through Joyce Johnson's office,
2) the amendment is reviewed by DOE,
3) after review and if there is no problem, the request will go
on the State Board of Education's Consent Agenda.
A formal record of Charter changes is needed because each school
is accountable for compliance with its charter. I suggest the
request for charter revision include 1) a cover letter with the
change(s) you seek, 2) the page(s) you want to amend, and
3) the replacement page(s) with revisions clearly noted .
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Q:
We're changing the name "Program Coordinator" to "School
Director", referring to the head of the school person. Does this
change require a revision of the charter?
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A: No. A position name change doesn't rise to the level
of needing a charter revision. Changing the name of the school,
however, would require notification and request to the DOE, as
well as other agencies where your school is registered.
Changing position titles would likely require a vote of
the Board, at least during initial years when the school is
refining its design.
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