More than a quarter of charter schools close within the first five years of operation, according to a recent report by the National Center for Charter School Accountability that examined charter school closures from 1998 to 2022. By year 20, the rate reaches 55 percent. […]
Category: Charters
CSBA seeks fixes to address persistent problems encountered by local charter school authorizers
By CSBA Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado Recent developments at the state and local levels have highlighted a few troubling deficiencies in current law related to the charter school authorization process. These issues exacerbate the difficulties that both school districts and county boards of education experience […]
Superior Court rules State Board of Education abused its authority in overturning local charter denials
In January 2023, CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance (ELA) filed writ of mandate seeking to invalidate the State Board of Education’s (SBE) decision to grant the appeal of the petition for Mayacamas Charter School, which overturned the decisions by both the Napa Valley Unified School District […]
CSBA sues State Board of Education for violations of the charter appeal process
Earlier this week, the CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance, which represents nearly 1,000 school districts and county offices of education throughout California, filed a lawsuit against the California State Board of Education (SBE). CSBA’s lawsuit supports the Napa Valley Unified School District’s (NVUSD) position in its […]
AB 1316 would make sweeping changes to charter school oversight requirements
By Kristin Lindgren The Legislature is once again contemplating charter school reform. In February 2021, Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell, Chair of the Assembly’s Education Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 1316. AB 1316 contains significant reforms aimed charter schools and, particularly, nonclassroom-based charter schools. The bill, which […]
Judge certifies class-action status in Reyes v. State of California
By order of a Sacramento County Superior Court dated Feb. 26, 2021, class certification has been granted to a group of nonclassroom-based charter schools, their students and other waitlisted students, to represent all 308 nonclassroom-based charter schools in California in a lawsuit challenging the state’s […]
Authorizing school districts reach repayment settlement in charter school fraud case
In May 2019, a Grand Jury in San Diego County indicted 11 individuals involved in the group A3 Education, which ran 19 charter schools across California. The indictment alleged a scheme to siphon state funds for charter schools to A3 and the criminal defendants. During […]
AB 1505 passes Legislature, sent to Gov. Newsom
Assembly Bill 1505 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), a bill that would make substantial changes to processes governing charter school petitions and renewals, has been sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk after passing the Senate with a 27-11 vote (with two members not recording a vote) on […]
Updates on AB 1505, charter school petitions and renewals
On Aug. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that an agreement had been reached with legislative leadership on Assembly Bill 1505 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), a bill that would make substantial changes to processes governing charter school petitions and renewals. The amended version of AB 1505 is […]
Legislative agreement reached on charter schools bill
On Wednesday evening (Aug. 28), Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that an agreement has been reached with legislative leadership on Assembly Bill 1505 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), a bill that would make substantial changes to processes governing charter school petitions and renewals. The exact details of this […]