Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 210 - State Department of Education › Chapter 10 - School Administration and Instructional Services › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 210:10-1-22 - Guidelines for nontraditional public schools

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Purpose.
Oklahoma law
				authorizes certain public school entities that are exempt from many of the
				statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to traditional public schools,
				but are not classified or operated as charter schools. This section lays out
				guidelines for "conversion schools" and "partnership schools", two types of
				nontraditional public schools authorized by state law.
(b)
Conversion schools.
Pursuant
				to 70 O.S. § 3-132(E), "conversion school" means a school site created by
				converting all or part of a traditional public school in order to access any or
				all flexibilities afforded to a charter school. Unlike a charter school, a
				conversion school is administered by the school district board of education
				rather than an independent governing board, and the school district itself
				retains the features of a traditional public school district. A conversion
				school is subject to all school accreditation requirements that apply to
				charter schools.
(1)
Conversion plan
				requirements.
A school district that wishes to convert one or more
				school sites to access flexibilities available to charter schools is required
				by the authorizing statute to prepare a conversion plan that includes all of
				the following features:
(A) A mission
				statement for the conversion school(s);
(B) A description including, but not limited
				to, the organizational structure of the school(s);
(C) A description of the facility and
				location of the conversion school(s);
(D) A description of the grades served;
(E) An outline of criteria
				designed to measure effectiveness of the conversion school(s);
(F) A demonstration of support for the
				conversion school(s) from residents of the school district which may include,
				but is not limited to, a survey of the school district residents or a petition
				signed by residents of the school district;
(G) Documentation that one or more
				representatives of the school district pursuing the conversion of a school have
				completed charter school training as set forth in 70 O.S. § 3-134(A);
(H) Unless otherwise authorized by
				law or regulation, a description of the academic program aligned with state
				standards;
(I) A description of the
				instructional design of the conversion school(s), including the type of
				learning environment, class size and structure, curriculum overview, and
				teaching methods;
(J) The plan for
				using internal and external assessments to measure and report student progress;
(K) The plans for identifying and
				successfully serving students with disabilities, students who are English
				language learners, and students who are academically behind;
(L) A description of co-curricular or
				extracurricular programs and how they will be funded and delivered;
(M) The student discipline policies for the
				conversion school(s), including those for special education students;
(N) An organizational chart that
				clearly presents the organizational structure of the conversion school(s),
				including lines of authority and reporting between the board of education,
				staff, any related bodies such as advisory bodies or parent and teacher
				councils, and any external organizations that will play a role in managing the
				school;
(O) A clear description of
				the roles and responsibilities for the board of education, the leadership and
				management team(s) for the conversion school(s), and any other entities shown
				in the organizational chart;
(P)
				The leadership and teacher employment policies for the conversion school(s);
(Q) Proposed governing policies;
(R) Explanations of any
				partnerships or contractual partnerships central to the operations or mission
				of the conversion school(s); and
(S) A requirement that the conversion
				school(s) follow the requirements of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the
				Oklahoma Open Records Act.