Approval Of A Charter School

(1) Charter school application requirements applicable to all authorizers as defined by T.C.A. § 49-13-104(4): (a) The Tennessee State Board of Education (State Board) shall provide an application for charter school sponsors (sponsors) to use in applying to open a public charter school and shall provide scoring criteria addressing the elements of the charter school application. The State Board shall develop the application in consultation with the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission (Commission). (b) Prospective sponsors who intend to submit an initial charter school application (initial application) for consideration shall submit a letter of intent to the Commission and to the appropriate authorizer at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the February 1 initial application deadline. If the letter of intent’s deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state-observed holiday, the letter of intent shall be due on the next business day. The letter of intent shall be completed on the form provided by the State Board. The authorizer shall confirm receipt within five (5) business days and provide the sponsor with the current federal, state, and local per-pupil funding estimates. (c) Failure to submit a letter of intent to the Commission and to the appropriate authorizer by the stated deadline shall exclude a sponsor from submitting an initial application for that application cycle. (d) On or before 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 1 of the year preceding the year in which the proposed public charter school plans to begin operation, the sponsor shall prepare and file an electronic copy of the initial application with the authorizer. If February 1 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state-observed holiday, the initial application materials shall be due on the next business day. The authorizer shall report each completed initial application received to the Commission no later than ten (10) calendar days from the authorizer’s receipt of the initial application. (e) Authorizers may charge an application fee of up to $2,500 for each initial application the sponsor files and may request up to five (5) paper copies of the initial application. Application fees and paper copies shall be received no later than February 1 by a time on that date during regular business hours, as set by the authorizer. Authorizers shall post to their websites the initial application fee amount, paper copy requests, if any, and the deadline by which these must be submitted. (f) Authorizers are only required to review complete initial applications. An initial application shall be considered complete and therefore must be reviewed by the CHARTER SCHOOLS CHAPTER 0520-14-01 authorizer if the following are received by the deadlines specified in subparagraphs (1)(d) and (1)(e): 1. An electronic copy of the written application, including any required attachments, using the State Board’s charter application form for the current application cycle; 2. Up to five (5) paper copies of the written application, if requested by the authorizer; and 3. The application fee, if required by the authorizer. (g) The authorizer shall rule by resolution, at a regular or specially called meeting, on the approval or denial of an initial application no later than ninety (90) calendar days after the authorizer’s receipt of the completed initial application. (h) Should the authorizer fail to approve or deny an initial application within the ninety (90) calendar days, the initial application shall be deemed approved. (i) If the initial application is denied, the grounds upon which the authorizer based the decision to deny the initial application shall be stated in writing and provided to the sponsor within ten (10) calendar days of the date of the decision to deny, specifying objective reasons for the denial and the deadline by which the sponsor may submit an amended charter school application (amended application). (j) Within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of the grounds for denial, a sponsor may submit to the authorizer an amended application to correct the deficiencies identified by the authorizer. 1. The amended application shall be submitted by the sponsor using the same application form as the initial application. 2. The authorizer shall evaluate the amended application using the same scoring criteria as the initial application review. (k) The authorizer shall approve or deny the amended application within sixty (60) calendar days of its receipt. (l) Should the authorizer fail to approve or deny the amended application within sixty (60) calendar days, it shall be deemed approved. (m) If the authorizer denies the amended application, it shall provide to the sponsor the grounds upon which it based the decision to deny in writing within five (5) calendar days of the date of the decision to deny, specifying objective reasons for the denial and the sponsor’s right to an appeal. 1. A sponsor may appeal a denial by the local board of education of an amended application to the Commission no later than ten (10) calendar days after the date of the final decision to deny. 2. A denial of an amended application by the Commission is final and not subject to appeal. (n) Authorizers shall report to the Tennessee Department of Education (Department) and Commission whether the authorizer has approved or denied the sponsor’s complete application and the reasons for denial, if applicable, no later than ten (10) calendar days after approval or denial of the initial and amended application. CHARTER SCHOOLS CHAPTER 0520-14-01 (o) Authorizers shall review all complete applications, as defined in subparagraph (1)(f) of this Rule, in accordance with T.C.A. § 49-13-108 and quality charter authorizing standards approved by the State Board in Policy 6.111. (p) All authorizer policies regarding the submission and review of charter school applications shall be consistent with applicable State Board policies and with state and federal law, rules, and regulations.