Opinion ID: 2633588
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The CSA.

Text: The CSA, as adopted in 1992 and since substantially amended, is intended to allow teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish . . . schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure. (Ed.Code, § 47601.) By this means, the CSA seeks to expand learning opportunities, encourage innovative teaching methods, provide expanded public educational choice, and promote educational competition and accountability within the public school system. ( Id., subds. (a)-(g).) If statutory requirements are met, public school authorities must grant the petition of interested persons for a charter to operate such a school within a public school district. (Ed.Code, § 47605.) For certain purposes, the school is deemed to be a `school district' ( id., § 47612, subd. (c)), is part of the Public School system ( id., § 47615, subd. (a)), falls under the jurisdiction of that system, and is subject to the exclusive control of public school officers ( id., § 47615, subd. (a)(2); § 47612, subd. (a)). (See Wilson v. State Bd. of Education (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 1125, 1136-1142, 89 Cal.Rptr.2d 745 ( Wilson ).) A charter school must operate under the terms of its charter, and must comply with the CSA and other specified laws, but is otherwise exempt from the laws governing school districts. (Ed.Code, § 47610.) A charter school may elect to operate as, or be operated by, a nonprofit corporation organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law. ( Id., § 47604, subd. (a), as added by Stats.1998, ch. 34, § 3.) A charter school is eligible for its share of state and local public education funds, which share is calculated primarily, as with all public schools, on the basis of its ADA. (Ed.Code, § 47612; see also id., § 47630 et seq.) [10] Provisions added to the CSA since its original adoption enumerate certain oversight responsibilities of the chartering authority ( id., § 47604.32), and authorize that agency to charge the school supervisorial fees, within specified limits, for such services ( id., § 47613).