2023 Code of Virginia › Title 22.1 - Education › Chapter 13 - Programs, Courses of Instruction and Textbooks › § 22.1-212.7. Contracts for public charter schools

A. Within 90 days of approval of a charter application, the local school board and the management committee of the approved public charter school shall execute a charter contract that clearly sets forth (i) the academic and operational performance expectations and measures by which the public charter school will be judged and (ii) the administrative relationship between the local school board and public charter school, including each party's rights and duties. Such 90-day period may be extended by a period not to exceed 30 days by mutual agreement of the parties. Such performance expectations and measures shall include applicable federal and state accountability requirements and may be refined or amended by mutual agreement after the public charter school has collected baseline achievement data for its enrolled students.
B. The academic and operational performance expectations and measures in the charter contract shall be based on a performance framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide the local school board's evaluations of each public charter school. The performance framework shall include indicators, measures, and metrics for:
1. Student academic proficiency;
2. Student academic growth;
3. Achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth between the major student subgroups based on gender, race, poverty status, special education status, English language learner status, and gifted status;
4. Attendance;
5. Recurrent annual enrollment;
6. Postsecondary education readiness of high school students;
7. Financial performance and sustainability; and
8. The performance and stewardship of the management committee, including compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and terms of the charter contract.
C. The performance framework shall allow the inclusion of additional rigorous, valid, and reliable indicators proposed by a public charter school to augment external evaluations of its performance, provided that the local school board approves the quality and rigor of such indicators and such indicators are consistent with the purposes of this article.
D. The performance framework shall require the disaggregation of all student performance data by major student subgroups based on gender, race, poverty status, special education status, English language learner status, and gifted status.
E. Annual performance targets shall be set by each public charter school and the local school board and shall be designed to help each school meet applicable federal, state, and local school board expectations.
F. The charter contract shall be signed by the chairman of the local school board and the president or chairman of the public charter school's management committee. Within 10 days of executing a charter contract, the local school board shall submit to the Board written notification of the charter contract execution, including a copy of the executed charter contract and any attachments.
G. No public charter school shall commence operations without a charter contract executed in accordance with this section and approved in an open meeting of the local school board.
H. If the charter application proposes a program to increase the educational opportunities for at-risk students, including those proposals for residential charter schools for at-risk students, the local school board or relevant school boards, as the case may be, on behalf of the public charter school, shall also request that the Board approve an Individual School Accreditation Plan for the evaluation of the performance of the school as authorized by the Standards of Accreditation pursuant to 8VAC20-131-280 C of the Virginia Administrative Code.
I. Any material revision of the terms of the contract may be made only with the approval of the local school board or relevant school boards and the management committee of the public charter school.
1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2012, cc. 702, 720; 2016, c. 770.