BOARD TRAINING As soon as the Commissioner's Rules regarding Board Training have been finalized, the Resource Center will proceed with the Charter School Board Training Project, which will then be in compliance with HB6. Topics will include all those required in HB6. Watch the Friday Fax® for the schedule of the Resource Center Board Training that will be offered in your geographic area.

THANKS to all 900 of you who attended the Sixth Annual Texas Charter School Conference in Galveston. Our national speakers, Raul Yzaguirre and Johnathan Williams were very pleased to see so many Texas charter school leaders in attendance.

ORIENTATION SESSION The charter school division at TEA is hosting a two-day orientation session on May 9 and 10, 2002 in room 1-104 of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress in Austin. The presentation schedule for Thursday, May 9 is from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 10. Staff from new charter schools are required to attend an orientation before beginning operation. The next orientation will be July 22 and 23, 2002. Existing charter school personnel and ESC representatives are always welcome. To register, please call the Charter Schools Division at 512-463-9575. See attached agenda.

CHARTER AMENDMENTS May 1^st was the deadline for submitting amendment requests to increase maximum enrollment, expand grade levels served, add a campus, or expand the geographic boundary. For any schools that wish to submit an amendment request, please do so immediately. A new commissioner rule requires that no such amendments may be approved after June 1, 2002 to be effective in school year 2002-2003. Previous amend- ment request forms have indicated that a school must send the agency a budget with an amendment request to add a campus. This is no longer necessary. An amendment request form and instructions are attached. For additional information contact Kirsten Christopherson at 512-463-2237.

NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE will be held June 19 - 22, 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The US Dept. of Education strongly encourages charter schools to attend and authorizes the use of your federal start-up funds for this travel. Grantees with previously approved travel will not have to amend the budget to cover additional expenses. However, grantees without previously approved travel must submit a budget amendment to cover this expenditure. See the instructions in Part II, Instructions for schedule 3A. Charters still in the negotiation process, i.e., without a NOGA, may need to submit or change the Schedules 3 and 3 E to include travel for the conference. For more conference information go to http://conferencepros.com.

CHARTER SCHOOL ORIENTATION
May 9 & 10, 2002

Room 1-104
Texas Education Agency
William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas

Thursday, May 9

CHARTER SCHOOL ORIENTATION
May 9 & 10, 2002

Room 1-104
Texas Education Agency
William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas

Friday, May 10

Contact:

Kirsten Christophersen (Charter Schools)
p (512) 463-9575 f (512) 463-9732
kchristo@tea.state.tx.us
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/

Charter schools must be operated in accordance with the charter application approved by the State Board of Education. If changes to the charter are desired, the governing body of a charter school may request that the charter be amended after that body has voted that the request be made.

All amendment requests are considered to be substantive requests. If at some point the commissioner creates a list of non-substantive amendments, a form will be created to address those.

The Charter School Division generally sends amendment requests to the divisions of Special Education, Legal Services, and School Financial Audits for review. Reviewers are asked to inform the amendment coordinator of any problems with the charter school operation, governance, or administration or with the amendment request itself. Staff members in the reviewing divisions are asked to complete the review within two weeks. After receiving the reviews, the amendments are taken to the commissioner for consideration.

The commissioner considers many things when taking action on amendments, including standardized testing performance, school financial management, and history of compliance with selected reporting requirements. Also included are currently approved grade levels, maximum enrollment, geographic boundary, and campuses.

Amendment requests to expand grade levels, increase maximum enrollment, or add a campus cannot be approved by the commissioner to be effective before the start of the third full year of school operation. MAY 1 is the deadline for receipt by the Charter Schools Division of any request to expand grade levels, increase maximum enrollment, or add a campus. Such requests cannot be approved after June 1 preceding the school year in which the expansion would be effective.

No new campus numbers will be assigned for existing campuses after December 1. (This is to avoid splitting a campus after the initial submission of student data in October.)

Please note the following:

All amendment requests must be accompanied by a written resolution adopted by the governing body of the charter holder and signed by the members voting in favor. The resolution must authorize the commissioner to amend the open-enrollment charter as set forth in the text of the amendment, as finally negotiated between the charter holder and the commissioner, including any conditions.

In addition, all amendment requests should include the text and page number, or a photocopy, of the current charter language to be changed, and the text proposed as the new charter language. Amendments 1, 2, 3, or 4, below, require evidence that impact statements have been mailed to affected districts.

1. A charter school requesting expansion of grade levels is required to submit an educational plan for each proposed grade level with the amendment request. Without the educational plan, the amendment request will not be sent forward for review or considered by the commissioner.
   
   
2. A charter school requesting a maximum enrollment increase greater than 25% of the currently approved maximum enrollment must submit a business plan with the amendment request to ensure that the school has planned for increased growth. Without the business plan, the amendment request will not be sent forward for review or considered by the commissioner.
   
   The business plan should include the following elements: a detailed discussion of the necessity of an enrollment increase; a discussion of any added facilities, furniture, equipment, and/or personnel made necessary by the enrollment increase; a proposed budget for the charter school that includes the added costs; and a comparison of the previous year's budget, as amended, with the proposed budget for the coming year, including an explanation of significant variances.
   
   
3. A charter school requesting an additional campus must submit a certificate of occupancy (if required by local regulation) for the campus before state funds may be generated by students enrolled at that campus. However, an amendment to secure approval for an additional campus may be considered by the commissioner before such a document has been received.
   
   
4. A charter school requesting geographic boundary changes must submit evidence that impact statements were sent to all school districts included in the new area requested. A Statement of Impact form and a sample letter to districts are included here.
   
   
5. A charter school requesting to change or enter into a contractual agreement with a management company is required to submit a copy of the management company contract.
   
   
6. A charter school requesting to relocate a campus must submit a certificate of occupancy (if required by local regulation) for the campus before state funds may be generated by students enrolled at that campus. However, an amendment to secure approval for an additional campus may be considered by the commissioner before such a document has been received.

All amendment requests must be accompanied by a written resolution adopted by the governing body of the charter holder and signed by the members voting in favor. The resolution must authorize the commissioner to amend the open-enrollment charter as set forth in the text of the amendment, as finally negotiated between the charter holder and the commissioner, including any conditions. In addition, all amendment requests should include the text and page number, or a photocopy, of the current charter language to be changed, and the text proposed as the new charter language. Amendments 1, 2, 3, or 4 require evidence that impact statements have been mailed to affected districts.

1.	Change Grade Levels Served   REQUESTED EFFECTIVE DATE: ___________________________________ Currently approved grade levels __________________________________________________________ Requested Change ____________________________________________________________________ Education plans for each new grade level to be served are attached (required)   yes   no
2.	Change Maximum Enrollment REQUESTED EFFECTIVE DATE: ____________________________________ Currently approved maximum enrollment ____________________________________________________ Requested Change ____________________________________________________________________ Business plan to incorporate increased enrollment is included (required)   yes   no
3.	Add a Campus REQUESTED EFFECTIVE DATE: ________________________________________________ New Address (if available) _______________________________________________________________ Is the proposed campus within the currently approved geographic boundary? ________________________      If not, see request below to Change Geographic Boundary. If the amendment is approved, is a campus number requested? ____________________________________ If the amendment is approved, should mail be sent to the campus? _________________________________ A certificate of occupancy for the new site must be sent before students may attend school.
4.	Change Geographic Boundary REQUESTED EFFECTIVE DATE: ___________________________________ Currently Approved Boundary ___________________________________________________________ Proposed Change _____________________________________________________________________
5.	Change/Enter into Contractual Agreement with a Management Company A copy of the management company contract is attached (required)   yes   no Please describe the requested amendment to the charter regarding a management company. (Please attach another sheet of paper to describe the request, if necessary.) ____________________________________________________________________________________
6.	Relocate Campus REQUESTED EFFECTIVE DATE: _____________________________________________ County District Number ________________________________________________________________ Current Address _____________________________________________________________________ Proposed Address (if available) _____________________________________________________ A school requesting to relocate a campus must submit a certificate of occupancy (if required by local regulation) for the campus before state funds may be generated by students enrolled at that campus. Please note that the proposed site must be within the currently approved geographic boundary. If it is not, you must also submit an amendment request to extend the geographic boundary.
7.	Other Amendment to Charter (Please attach another sheet of paper to describe the request, if necessary.) ____________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________ Signature of Authorized Administrator	_________________________ Title/Position	_________________________ Date
_________________________ Printed Name of Authorized Administrator	_________________________ Phone	_________________________ Fax