Application

(1) On or before November 15 of the year preceding the year in which the proposed ASD- authorized charter school intends to transfer to the Commission, the charter school operator (“operator”) shall file an application to the Commission. All applications shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the Commission, or the Commission’s designee. The authorizer shall review the materials for a complete application prior to the application’s evaluation. The authorizer review shall include an opportunity for the operator to cure any deficiencies in the application. Subsequent to submission by an operator, the application shall be published to the Commission website after thirty (30) days. (2) An application submitted by an ASD-authorized charter school seeking transfer to the Commission, pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-1-614(k)(2) or (k)(4), shall be accompanied by a fee of two thousand five hundred ($2,500) dollars. Application fee shall be by check or money order, made payable to “State of Tennessee – Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.” Failure to include payment of the application fee will result in the application not being accepted by the Commission. (3) Application evaluations shall include review of the academic, operational, and financial performance of the ASD-authorized charter school, including but not limited to student growth and student academic achievement. (a) The Commission staff shall assemble a charter application 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. In reviewing the application, the application review committee shall: 1. Use the scoring criteria developed by the Commission and available on the Commission’s website to evaluate the charter application; and 2. Review applications in accordance with the State Board of Education’s quality public charter school authorizing standards. (b) The Commission staff shall interview the governing board of each ASD-authorized charter school that has filed a timely and complete application. The focus of the interview will be assessing the governing board and school leadership’s capacity to continue to operate a high-quality charter school under the Commission that is consistent with the charter application, accelerates student academic achievement, is operationally sound, and is fiscally responsible. 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. 1. The officers of the governing board and the school leader shall attend the interview, and the total participants from the sponsor shall be limited to eight (8). The interviews will not be open to the public. 2. All interview attendees (both on behalf of the charter school and Commission) shall attend the interview in-person. However, Commission staff may allow attendees to participate remotely in extraordinary circumstances. (c) Within seventy-five (75) calendar days after receipt of the November 15 application deadline, the Commission, or the Commission’s designee, shall hold a public hearing. The public hearing shall be attended by the Commission or its designated representative and shall occur in the LEA in which the ASD-authorized charter school geographically ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AUTHORIZATION CHAPTER 1185-01-03 resides. The hearing must be open to representatives from the local board of education and the governing board. Notice of the hearing must be provided to the local board of education, the governing board, and the general public and posted on the Commission’s website. (d) Following the public hearing, the interview, and the review of the 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 application, but the Commission is not bound by the recommendation. (4) The Commission shall review all timely filed applications in accordance with quality charter authorizing standards, as approved by the State Board of Education. The Commission shall approve or deny each application for transfer. The decision of the Commission shall be final. (5) If the Commission approves an ASD-authorized charter school application for a new charter term, a new charter agreement shall be negotiated and mutually agreed upon for the duration of the new charter term. (a) The charter agreement may include rights and obligations relating to the use of school buildings and facilities for the duration of the new charter term, in accordance with T.C.A. § 49-1-614(k). (6) If the Commission approves an ASD-authorized charter school application for a renewed charter agreement, a new charter agreement shall be negotiated and mutually agreed upon for the duration of the new charter term. (a) The charter agreement may include rights and obligations relating to the use of school buildings and facilities for the duration of the new charter term, in accordance with T.C.A. § 49-1-614(k).