Charter Renewal

The Charter Schools Act limits a charter to a maximum period of five-years.  As such, a school must seek renewal of its charter at least once during its initial charter term.  Because the charter is for a limited period and expires unless it is renewed, it is known as a “provisional charter.”  The purpose of making charters provisional is to hold charter schools more accountable than district-run public schools, which are registered instead of chartered.

The Charter Schools Act requires that charter schools submit an application for renewal. 
Not everything, however, that the Charter Schools Institute requires in the renewal application is required by the law.  The Act permits the State University Board of Trustees to require additional information.  In order to get the best sense of whether a charter school has lived up to its promises, the State University Trustees have determined that schools should submit a number of other documents as part of their application.  In addition, the Charter Schools Institute conducts a renewal visit to schools that apply for renewal.

In short, the State University Board does not automatically grant charter renewal; a school must demonstrate that it has earned it. Only by providing: 1) a comprehensive, evidence-based, case of the school's growth and increased student achievement over the life of the charter, 2) a description of the systems the school currently has in place to continue that growth, and 3) a set of well-designed plans that will result in further growth in the future, will a school have effectively demonstrated that it deserves to continue the high privilege of educating New York State's children. Throughout the renewal process schools should feel free to contact the Institue with any questions or concerns.

Note: Applications for Initial and Subsequent Charter Renewal
are due on Monday, August 17, 2009.

            ***  Important Information for SUNY Authorized Charter
                         Schools Applying to Renew their Charter  ***

1. SUNY's Charter Renewal Handbook is your comprehensive resource for
   applying to the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York
   to renew your charter.

The Handbook includes: A detailed FAQ on Renewal; the two central SUNY renewal resource documents that guide SUNY's renewal practices: the Practices, Policies and Procedures for the Renewal of Charter Schools Authorized by the State University Board of Trustees; and the State University of New York Charter Renewal Benchmarks; a series of renewal visit resources for school leaders, parents, teachers and the community; the actual applications, and even a model renewal charter.

The interactive .pdf  version of the Handbook includes easy hyper-links to the stand alone Word or Excel documents you will need to apply for renewal - for example, the application and budget template. 

2. Click here to download the SUNY Charter Renewal Handbook.
    
3. Link to the 7/2/09 letter from Institute Executive Director Jonas Chartock to all schools eligible to apply for renewal on August 17, 2009.

4. Please do not hesitate to contact the Institute with any questions or concerns.

The stand-alone documents that comprise SUNY's Charter Renewal Handbook are posted below for easy access:

• Renewal Applications in Microsoft Word and a template for the required Financial Statement in Microsoft Excel.
  
  
• Renewal Benchmarks (latest version is 4.0)
  
  
• Renewal FAQ
  
  
• Renewal Process Overview for Parents, Teachers, Community
  Members and Other Stakeholders
  
  
• Renewal Practices (Practices, Policies and Procedures for the Renewal of Charter Schools Authorized by the State University Board of Trustees)

Charter Renewal Handbook, Third Edition

* Download the latest version of
   Adobe Acrobat™ to use the interactive
   .pdf file.