Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 603 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Title 603 CMR 1.00 - Charter Schools › Section 1.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				603 CMR
				1.00, unless the context clearly requires otherwise,
				terms shall have the following meanings:
Accountability Plan
. A charter school
				creates an Accountability plan by the end of its first year of operation in
				accordance with guidelines issued by the Department. An Accountability Plan
				articulates the goals the school has set to measure its success.
Administrator
. Any individual duly
				authorized by a charter school's board of trustees to manage the programs and
				operations of the charter school, or a network of schools, in accordance with
				its charter as well as federal and state laws and regulations.
Application Cycle
. The period
				beginning with the availability of application information for charter schools
				and extending through the receipt of final charter school applications for
				review, ending no later than the following February when the Board of
				Elementary and Secondary Education makes final decisions on awarding new
				charters. The various stages of the application cycle occur in accordance with
				the schedule established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary
				Education.
Board
. The Board of Elementary and
				Secondary Education or a person duly authorized by the Board.
Board of Trustees
. Public agents
				authorized by the state to supervise and oversee a charter school or a network
				of charter schools. The boards of trustees shall be considered public employers
				for purposes of tort liability under M.G.L. c. 258. Boards of trustees of
				Commonwealth charter schools shall be considered public employers for
				collective bargaining purposes under M.G.L. c. 150E. In the case of Horace Mann
				charter schools, the school committee shall be considered the public employer
				for purposes of collective bargaining under M.G.L. c. 150E. A board of trustees
				may be authorized to hold more than one charter.
Campus
. The location at which a
				charter school educates students. A charter school may have multiple locations
				under one charter.
Charter
. A license issued by the Board
				under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 71, § 89, and
				603 CMR
				1.00, allowing the grantee to operate a charter school
				for a period of five years.
Charter Applicant
. As defined in
				M.G.L. c. 71, § 89(d), a charter applicant shall include but is not
				limited to:
(a) a non-profit business or corporate entity;
(b) two or more certified teachers; or
(c) ten or more parents/guardians; provided, however, that for
				profit business or corporate entities shall be prohibited from applying for a
				charter. The charter school application may be filed in conjunction with a
				college, university, museum, or other similar non-profit entity, or any
				combination.
Charter School
. A public school
				operated under a charter granted by the Board and refers to both Commonwealth
				and Horace Mann charter schools unless otherwise specified. A charter school is
				managed by a board of trustees and operates independent of any school
				committee. A Commonwealth charter school is considered a local education agency
				for all purposes. A Horace Mann charter school is a school or part of a school
				that operates under a charter approved and granted pursuant to
				603 CMR
				1.04. A Horace Mann charter school is
				considered a local education agency except for purposes of state aid, certain
				state and federal grant programs, collective bargaining, and any other purposes
				where such designation would conflict with law or regulation.
Commissioner
. The Commissioner of
				Elementary and Secondary Education or the Commissioner's designee.
Department
. The Department of
				Elementary and Secondary Education.
District
. A city, town, or regional
				school district.
Memorandum of Understanding
. A written
				agreement or agreements between or among a Horace Mann charter school, the
				school committee of the district in which the charter school is located, and
				the collective bargaining unit for the district that, at a minimum, defines any
				modifications of the relevant collective bargaining agreement(s), services, and
				facilities provided by the district to the charter school, and funding of the
				charter school by the district. The Memorandum of Understanding is a material
				term of the charter. The charter school must submit the Memorandum of
				Understanding to the Department for approval.
Network
. Multiple charter schools
				overseen by a single board of trustees. Each charter school is granted its own
				charter.
Proven Provider
. A Proven Provider
				is:
(a) two or more persons who had primary or significant
				responsibility serving, for at least five years, in a leadership role in a
				school or similar program that has a record of academic success and
				organizational viability;
(b) a non-profit education management organization or
				non-profit charter management organization, in operation for at least five
				years, that has a record of academic success and organizational
				viability;
(c) the board of trustees of an existing charter school that
				has a record of academic success and organizational viability; or
(d) an education management organization, charter management
				organization, or school support organization that has a record of academic
				success and organizational viability in operating or starting public schools
				with which an applicant proposes to contract.
Qualifications for Proven Providers are described in
				603 CMR
				1.04(4).
Recruitment and Retention Plan
. A
				charter school's written plan to recruit and retain diverse students under the
				provisions of M.G.L. c. 71, § 89, and
				603 CMR
				1.00. For the purposes of a Recruitment and Retention
				plan, retention shall be defined as the charter school's ability to maintain
				enrollment of its students with low turnover and limited attrition.
Regional Charter School
. A charter
				school with a charter designating it as "regional" is required to give
				preference in enrollment to students residing in a specified region containing
				more than one district.
Sending District
. A Massachusetts
				city, town, or regional school district in which a charter school student
				resides and where the student would otherwise attend a public school. If a
				charter school has a residential component, the sending district is the city,
				town, or regional school district in which the parent or legal guardian of the
				charter school student resides or, if no parent or legal guardian can be
				identified, the school district in which the student last attended
				school.
Sibling
. Persons who have a common
				parent, either biologically or legally through adoption.