Charter School Renewal Application Appeals

(1) Pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-13-121(f), the governing body of a public charter school may appeal a decision by the local board of education to deny a renewal application to the Commission no later than ten (10) calendar days after the date of the local board of education’s decision to deny the renewal application. The governing body of the charter school shall submit a notice of appeal by email to the Commission. The notice of appeal must be received by the Commission no later than 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on the tenth (10th) day after the local board of education’s decision. In order to be considered a complete appeal, this notice of appeal shall contain the following information: CHARTER SCHOOL APPEALS CHAPTER 1185-01-01 (a) Copies of the renewal application, which shall include, but not be limited to, the information set forth in T.C.A. § 49-13-121. Corrections to the renewal application shall not be accepted; (b) Summary of the renewal application timeline including the date that the renewal application was originally submitted to the local board of education, the date the renewal application was denied by the local board of education, and any other dates relevant to the local board of education’s consideration of the renewal application; and (c) Brief statement, no longer than three (3) pages, including but not limited to an explanation for why the local board of education’s denial of the charter school renewal application was contrary to the best interests of the students, LEA, or community. (2) Commission staff shall not accept an incomplete appeal or any additional documentation from the charter school governing body beyond the contents of the notice of appeal unless requested by the Commission staff. If the governing body indicates in the notice of appeal that one (1) of the requirements listed in subparagraphs (a)–(c) above cannot be submitted, the governing body shall include an explanation in the notice of appeal. Commission staff may conditionally accept the appeal and collect additional information to determine whether the appeal may be accepted despite the governing body’s inability to submit one (1) of the requirements listed in subparagraphs (a)–(c) above. (a) Additionally, the Commission staff may request additional documentation from the charter school governing body, the local board of education, and the Tennessee Department of Education. In such case, each is requested to comply with the document request within five (5) calendar days of the request or as soon as possible thereafter, but in no event more than seven (7) calendar days after the request. (3) The Commission shall conduct a de novo on the record review of the local board of education’s renewal decision. (4) The Commission staff shall assemble a renewal review committee comprised of teams of internal and external evaluators with relevant and diverse educational, organizational, financial, and legal expertise, as well as an understanding of the essential principles of public charter school autonomy and accountability. (a) In reviewing the renewal application and renewal record, the renewal review committee shall use a scoring rubric to evaluate the charter school’s renewal application and renewal record. (5) The Commission staff shall interview the governing board of each charter school operator that has filed an appeal. The focus of the interview will be on evaluating the charter school’s performance over the current term and the governing body and school leadership’s capacity to effectively oversee the charter school during the next charter term. The Commission staff shall assemble an interview panel that may include Commission staff, a Commission member, review committee members, and any other internal or external individuals whose knowledge and expertise would assist the Commission in its decision. (a) The officers of the governing board and the school leader shall attend the interview, and the total participants from the charter school operator shall be limited to eight (8). The interviews will not be open to the public. (b) All interview attendees (both on behalf of the charter school and Commission) shall attend the interview in person. However, Commission staff may allow certain attendees to participate remotely in extraordinary circumstances. CHARTER SCHOOL APPEALS CHAPTER 1185-01-01 (6) Within sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of the notice of appeal and after reasonable public notice, the Commission shall hold a public hearing, attended by the Commission or its designated representative, in the school district in which the charter school has been operating. (7) Following the public hearing, the interview, and the de novo review of the renewal record including the renewal application, the Executive Director of the Commission shall provide written findings and recommendations to the Commission. The Commission shall consider the findings and recommendations of the Executive Director when rendering a decision on the appeal, but the Commission is not bound by the recommendation. (8) Subsequently, but within the sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of the notice of appeal, the Commission shall meet to render a decision and shall forward its findings to the local board of education. (a) A representative of the governing board and local school board may speak at the meeting where the Commission will consider the findings and recommendations of the Executive Director. Alternatively, a representative of the governing board and local school board may submit a written comment to be read into the record by a member of the Commission staff during the meeting where the Commission will consider the findings and recommendations of the Executive Director. Written comments shall not be more than one (1) page typed in length and shall be received by the Executive Director at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the scheduled board meeting. The Commission shall accept only one (1) written comment from each party. (b) If the Commission finds that the local board of education’s decision was contrary to the best interests of the students, LEA, or community and approves the renewal application, the Commission shall be the authorizer. (c) A decision by the Commission to deny renewal of a charter agreement is final and not subject to appeal. (d) If the governing body of a charter school authorized by the Commission submits its renewal application to the Commission pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-13-121 then the decision of the Commission on the renewal application is final and may not be appealed again to the Commission.