West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 126 - Education › Title 126 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Series 126-079 - Charter Public Schools (3300) › Section 126-79-5 - Charter School Application Process

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
5.1. A transparent, clearly defined process
				for evaluating charter school applications will help build public confidence
				that approval or denial decisions are fairly rendered based on consistent
				criteria. Defining such a process will also help applicants submit substantive
				applications that provide authorizers with the evidence necessary to make
				decisions that best serve the interests of students.
5.2. Application forms.
5.2.a. Pursuant to W. Va. Code §
										18-5G-4(b)(l),
				the WVDE consulted with nationally recognized charter school organizations and
				West Virginia education stakeholders in the development of standard charter
				school application forms. Those forms are available on the WVDE's
				website.
5.2.b. Authorizers are
				permitted to issue addenda to the standard charter school application form for
				charter applicants to complete in accordance with section 4. Authorizers shall
				only add addenda in good faith that create criteria that are reasonably related
				to the purpose of this policy.
5.2.b.1. Prior
				to submitting application, charter school applicants should verify whether any
				of the potential authorizers to which the applicant intends to submit an
				application has issued an addendum to the standard charter school
				application.
5.2.b.2. If any
				addenda have been issued, the charter school applicant must complete and timely
				submit the addenda with the standard charter school application form.
5.2.c. Pursuant to W. Va. Code
				§
										18-5G-6(a)(3),
				authorizers have the responsibility to solicit high-quality applications for
				charter schools.
5.2.c.1. To fulfill this
				duty, authorizers must use the charter school application and accompanying
				materials developed by the WVDE and disseminated on the WVDE's
				website.
5.2.c.2. Authorizers have
				the option to go beyond the materials developed by the WVDE and release
				requests for applications (RFAs) or other forms of active solicitation for
				charter school applications to fulfill the legislative intent outlined in W.
				Va. Code §
											18-5G-1
				to provide options that expand educational opportunities not currently
				available to students in their jurisdiction. These RFAs may specify additional
				application requirements, forms, and criteria, but authorizers are required to
				use the statewide application as the core of the application. Authorizers may
				also highlight specific unmet educational needs or demands in their RFAs. RFAs
				may include but are not limited to, the following preferences for schools that:
5.2.c.2.A. Serve students with a specific
				special need (e.g., students with a specific exceptionality, students not on
				track to graduate due to insufficient credit accumulation, etc.);
5.2.c.2.B. Serve a geographic area/community
				where students are poorly served by current educational options;
5.2.c.2.C. Serve students in a specific set
				of grades or programmatic level(s);
5.2.c.2.D. Serve students with particular
				academic or career interests, so long as the school does not exclude students
				based on prior achievement or performance in the focus area;
5.2.c.2.E. Serve students using a specific
				pedagogy or educational philosophy not otherwise available to students in the
				community; and
5.2.c.2.F. Meet
				educational needs or demands expressed by local students and/or community
				members.