1
SY 2024-2025 Charter Term Renewal Guidelines and Application for Renewal
Term beginning July 1, 2025
NYS Board of Regents-Authorized Charter Schools ONLY
The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York
Charter School Office
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234
518‐474‐1762
Posted July 2024
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Table of Contents
Introduction and Overview ............................................................................................................. 3
Application for Charter Renewal Submission Instructions ............................................................ 6
Application for Charter Renewal Completion Checklist ................................................................ 7
Renewal Application School Information ...................................................................................... 9
Board of Trustees Cover Letter and Application for Charter Renewal Certification ................... 10
SECTION 1: ACADEMIC SUCCESS ..........................................................................................11
Benchmark 1: Student Performance ............................................................................................. 11
Benchmark 2: Teaching and Learning ......................................................................................... 13
Benchmark 3: Culture, Climate, and Family Engagement ........................................................... 14
SECTION 2: ORGANIZATIONAL SOUNDNESS .....................................................................16
Benchmark 4: Financial Condition ............................................................................................... 16
Benchmark 5: Financial Management .......................................................................................... 17
Benchmark 6: Board Oversight and Governance ......................................................................... 18
Benchmark 7: Organizational Capacity ........................................................................................ 18
SECTION 3: FAITHFULNESS TO CHARTER AND LAW .......................................................21
Benchmark 8: Mission and Key Design Elements ....................................................................... 21
Benchmark 9: Enrollment, Recruitment, and Retention ............................................................... 21
Benchmark 10: Legal Compliance................................................................................................ 23
SECTION 4: CHARTER REVISIONS .........................................................................................25
Material Charter Revisions: .......................................................................................................... 25
Non-Material Charter Revisions: .................................................................................................. 25
SECTION 5: ATTACHMENTS ....................................................................................................26
Attachment A: School Calendar. .................................................................................................. 26
Attachment B: Master School Schedule ....................................................................................... 26
Attachment C: Complaint Policy. ................................................................................................. 26
Attachment D: Student Discipline Policy/ Code of Conduct and DASA Policy. ......................... 27
Attachment E: Proposed Budget (Excel template). ...................................................................... 27
Attachment F: By-laws and Code of Ethics. ................................................................................. 27
Attachment G: Board of Trustees Information. ............................................................................ 27
Attachment H: Organizational Chart. ........................................................................................... 28
Attachment I: Proposed Contract with Comprehensive Service Provider, Charter Management
Organization, or Other Entity that Provides Comprehensive Management Services. .................. 28
Attachment J: Enrollment and Admissions Policy. ...................................................................... 28
Attachment K: Proposed Enrollment Table. ................................................................................. 29
Attachment L: Certificate of Occupancy and Fire Inspection ...................................................... 29
Attachment M: Fiscal Impact Table. ........................................................................................ 30
Attachment N: Narrative Outlining Innovative Aspects of the Charter School. ...................... 30
SECTION 6: APPENDICES .........................................................................................................31
Appendix 1A: 2015 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Indicators ...................................... 31
Appendix 1B: 2019 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Indicators ....................................... 35
Appendix 2A: 2015 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Data Guide .................................... 40
Appendix 2B: 2019 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Data Guide .................................... 43
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Introduction and Overview
*Please note: Before applying for renewal, the board should carefully consider whether the school has met the
criteria for renewal as set forth in the Regents’ Oversight Plan, including, but not limited to, the
Charter School
Renewal Policy and the standards set forth in the Charter School Performance Framework.
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If the board does
not apply for renewal, the charter will not be renewed, and the school will close on June 30
th
of the final year
of the current charter term.
The New York State Education Department (“NYSED” or “the Department”), on behalf of the New York State
Board of Regents (“Board of Regents” or “Regents”), is a community
‐b
ased authorizer committed to principles
of equity and access for all students across New York State. Community
‐b
ased authorizing is grounded on the
principle that community stakeholder voice and response to community need are integral components of
charter school decision
‐m
aking at all levels. We expect to see evidence of community voice as well as a
commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout your renewal application.
T
he New York State Education Department Charter School Office (“NYSED CSO”) renewal guidelines provide
charter schools authorized by the Board of Regents the detailed requirements necessary to prepare and submit
an application for charter renewal to the NYSED CSO and the New York State Board of Regents. These guidelines
also include an overview of the charter renewal process.
The Board of Regents is obligated by law to conduct ongoing performance reviews of each charter school and to
decide whether to renew the school’s charter and for how long. In 2012, the Board of Regents adopted a
Charter
School Renewal Policy, which guides the work of the NYSED CSO in overseeing the performance of Regents‐
authorized charter schools. The 2015 and 2019 Charter School Performance Framework is used by the NYSED
CSO to evaluate school performance, and by the Board of Regents to make renewal determinations.
The 2015 and 2019 Charter School Performance Framework addresses three broad areas. By providing complete
and accurate information and evidence under each of these three areas, the school has the opportunity to make
its best case for charter renewal.
1. The school’s academic success and ability to operate in an educationally sound manner;
2. The school’s organizational viability and its ability to operate in a fiscally sound manner; and
3. The school’s faithfulness to the terms of its charter and adherence to applicable laws and
regulations.
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Please note, there are currently two versions of the Charter School Performance Framework. The 2019 version will apply to all Board of
Regents‐authorized charter schools authorized or renewed during the 2019‐2020 school year and thereafter. The 2015 version will apply
to all other Board of Regents‐authorized charter schools.
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Submission of Application
for Charter Renewal
Charter Renewal Process Summary
Schools requesting a charter renewal term beginning on July 1, 2025, must
submit a completed application for charter renewal no later than 11:59 PM
EDT on September 4, 2024.
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Renewal schools must list all revision requests in their renewal application
(Section 4) AND must submit all revision requests to the NYSED CSO Online
Portal: Revisions by the September 4, 2024 renewal application due date. The
December 2, 2024 revision request submission due date is for non-renewal
schools.
To determine a school’s eligibility to submit an application, reference this list
placed on the renewal application webpage:
Charter schools whose charter
terms expire at the end of the 2024‐2025 school year.
Eligible school applicants will submit the complete renewal application solely
through the NYSED CSO Online Portal. The NYSED CSO will soon provide details
about the renewal process, resources, and its NYSED CSO Online Portal. Details
will also be posted on the NYSED CSO renewal application information page
.
The submitted charter renewal application must be complete and align to the
content and format guidelines set forth in this document.
Application Review
Once received on the NYSED CSO Online Portal: Renewals, NYSED CSO staff
review the submitted application to ensure that it is complete and clearly
written. If it is incomplete or if sections are unclear, it may be returned to the
school for revision. The NYSED CSO may also request additional information
during its renewal site visit.
Renewal Site Visit
As delegated by NYSED’s Commissioner, a NYSED CSO renewal site visit team
conducts a detailed review of the school’s performance. This NYSED CSO site
visit team will prepare a renewal site visit report summarizing its findings. Your
NYSED CSO liaison will work with you on scheduling and conducting a Fall 2024
renewal site visit. The NYSED CSO will provide details about the renewal site
visit in its
Renewal Site Visit Protocol and post this document on its website.
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In cases where a school’s charter agreement indicates a different due date, these guidelines constitute CSO approval, on behalf of the
Commissioner, for a non‐material revision to the charter agreement to accommodate this new deadline.
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Opportunity for Response
Upon NYSED CSO’s receipt of the school’s renewal application and material
revision requests (if applicable), it will send a notification letter to the school’s
district of location. This action prompts the district to hold a public hearing, at
which time anyone may speak in favor or opposition of what is before them.
Following the renewal site visit, and upon receipt of the NYSED CSO’s final draft
renewal report, the school may choose to provide the NYSED CSO with factual
corrections to that version of the report. Once finalized, the school then has an
opportunity to provide evaluative comments that become part of the school
record and are posted on the NYSED CSO website, along with the final renewal
site visit report. Other interested parties and members of the public are given
the opportunity to submit written comments to the NYSED CSO regarding
renewal of the school’s charter.
Department
Recommendation
Board of Regents Vote
The Department reviews data collected by the NYSED CSO through the renewal
process. This data includes multiple sources of evidence throughout the charter
term including, but not limited to, the school’s application for charter renewal;
site visit reports; annual reports; student achievement and enrollment data;
and financial data. The Department, based on the aforementioned data, and in
the context of the Board of Regents Renewal Policy, prepares a renewal
recommendation and a final renewal site visit report for the Board of Regents.
Schools will be notified of the Department’s renewal recommendation after it
has been finalized and confirmed, which typically occurs one to three business
days before the Regents meeting where the school’s item will be considered.
Schools should plan to have a brief call with the CSO to learn about that
recommendation shortly before that Regents meeting, however, schools that
are unable to participate in the calls will receive the recommendation
information through an email, which will be sent to the school’s board chair
and school leader.
The Board of Regents votes to grant, modify, or deny the school’s application
for charter renewal. The Board of Regents also has the discretion to set forth
terms and conditions for the school’s charter renewal period. A school’s
renewal application is generally a summary of what the school has
accomplished during the charter term and explains how the school has met the
requirements of its charter. To the extent that the renewal application contains
narrative or other items that conflict with the school’s original or existing
charter, and those items are not specifically approved by the Regents, they are
deemed denied. In order for the school’s revision requests to be considered for
Regents’ approval, the school must request these revisions to its charter using
Section 4 of the renewal application in the NYSED CSO Online Portal: (submitted
to the Revisions section and listed in the renewal application). These revision
requests are reviewed by NYSED CSO and, in the case of material revision
requests, reviewed by the Regents at the time the renewal action is taken. If a
revision request is not specifically approved by the Board of Regents, the
revision is deemed to be denied.
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Application for Charter Renewal Submission Instructions
Submission Instructions and Deadlines:
A school must complete all prompts in all sections of the renewal application applicable to the Performance
Framework it is currently under.
• To determine your school’s designation, please reference this document posted on the CSO website:
Charter schools whose charter terms expire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year
.
• You can also look at look at sections 2.5 and 6.2 of your current initial or renewal charter agreement. If
it just says, “performance framework,” the school is under the 2015 version. Otherwise, it will say “2019
performance framework.”
For your convenience, the CSO hyperlinked several resource documents to its main CSO webpages. You may
need to navigate through a page to find the referenced document. By doing so we hope to increase your chances
of accessing the document, rather than finding broken links. However, if you encounter any problems, please
email [email protected]
.
While schools may opt to include supplemental information that supports the school’s renewal narrative, the
Department and NYSED CSO are not required to consider this optional supplemental information in its renewal
recommendation.
The submitted charter renewal application must be complete and aligned to the content and format guidelines
set forth in this document.
Application for Charter Renewal Format:
• The completed Application for Charter Renewal may not exceed 45 pages, excluding cover letter, Section
4 revisions, Benchmark 1 narrative, optional supplemental documents, and attachments.
• Please use the application completion checklist, below, to ensure that all required components are
included.
• The text and attachments must use standard one‐inch margins, be paginated, and use a clearly readable
font no smaller in type size than 11
‐po
int.
• Th
e text and attachments must be grammatically correct and free of jargon, undefined terms, and
unexplained references.
• Tables, graphs, and other data (including student achievement data) must be clearly presented and
explained, and directly relevant to the text.
• Do not include individual student‐level data; or photographs, pictures, graphics, or news clippings that
are not directly relevant to the text.
• A
ll attachments must be clearly labeled, as designated in these guidelines. In a situation where an
attachment is not applicable to your school’s situation (such as Attachment I), please mark the
attachment template as “Not Applicable” and upload it to the NYSED CSO Online Portal.
• The cover letter (one page or less) submitted by the school’s board chair must be signed, dated, and
approved by the board. In addition, the application for charter renewal must be certified.
• You can hyperlink resources in your narrative. You do not have to submit every resource; however, every
hyperlink needs to be functional.
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Note: Education Law §2851(4)(c) requires the submission of copies of each of the annual reports of the charter
school as part of the application for charter renewal. If the school has already submitted these annual reports
to the NYSED CSO, the school is not required to resubmit them as part of this Application for Charter Renewal.
Pursuant to the Education Law, all charter schools in their renewal term are also required to submit an Annual
Report as directed by the Commissioner, and as would occur in any other year.
Application for Charter Renewal Completion Checklist
The Application for Charter Renewal must contain all the information in this checklist, organized in accordance
with the sections and subsections in this checklist. Review the instructions for each section to ensure that you
submit exactly what is required.
Table of Contents
☐ Renewal Application School Information Page
☐ Cover Letter from School’s Board of Trustees’ Chair (must be signed and approved by the Chairperson
of the Board of Trustees “Board Chair”)
☐ Application for Charter Renewal Certification (must be complete and signed by Board Chair)
Section 1. Academic Success
☐ Benchmark 1: Student Performance
☐ Benchmark 2: Teaching and Learning
☐ Benchmark 3: Culture, Climate, and Family Engagement (and Student for 2019 Performance
Framework “PF”)
Section 2. Organizational Soundness
☐ Benchmark 4: Financial Condition
☐ Benchmark 5: Financial Management
☐ Benchmark 6: Board Oversight and Governance
☐ Benchmark 7: Organizational Capacity
Section 3. Faithfulness to Charter and Law
☐ Benchmark 8: Mission and Key Design Elements
☐ Benchmark 9: Enrollment, Recruitment, and Retention
☐ Benchmark 10: Legal Compliance
Section 4. Proposed Charter Revisions (All revision requests should be submitted in the
NYSED CSO
Online Portal in the revisions section AND listed in the renewal application by the September 4, 2024
deadline.)
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Section 5. Attachments
☐ Attachment A: School Calendar
☐ Attachment B: Master School Schedule
☐ Attachment C: Complaint Policy
☐ Attachment D: Student Discipline Policy / Code of Conduct, and DASA Policy
☐ Attachment E: Proposed Budget
☐
Attachment F: By
‐L
aws and Code of Ethics
☐
Attachment G: Board of Trustees Information
☐ Attachment H: Organizational Chart
☐ Attachment I: Proposed Contract with Educational Service Provider, Charter Management
Organization, or Other Entity that Provides Comprehensive Management Services
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☐ Attachment J: Enrollment and Admissions Policy
☐ Attachment K: Projected Enrollment Table
☐ Attachment L: Certificate of Occupancy and Fire Inspection Report
☐ Attachment M: Fiscal Impact Table
☐ Attachment N: Narrative Outlining Innovative Aspects of the Charter School
☐ Optional Supplemental Materials: For example:
• Evidence of District/Charter and/or Charter/Charter Collaboration (This can be any type of
collaboration such as shared professional development, operational collaborations, or any other
type of effective practice sharing.)
• Community Engagement (e.g., Letters of Support; Partnerships with Community Organizations).
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (strongly recommended).
• E
vidence and Considerations of Community-Based Authorizing (strongly recommended). The
Board of Regents is a community
‐b
ased charter school authorizer with a commitment to
diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such:
o D
efine the community being served. Community is more than just the enrolled students,
staff, and families the school serves. It also includes all the people and groups who are
affected by your school activities and outcomes (including stakeholders in the area in which
the school is located); those who have influence or power over the school’s direction or
have an interest in its successful or unsuccessful outcomes.
o D
escribe the processes, practices, and policies by which community input and “voice” are
to be included in school‐level decision making and be represented on the school’s board of
trustees. Such processes, practices, and policies shall ensure a diverse set of voices are
included in the operation of the school and adhere to the principles of diversity, equity, and
inclusion.
o D
iscuss how the school design, both academic and social‐
e
motional, supports the needs of,
and is responsive to, the community and how input to determine and respond to changing
community need will be determined and implemented. This design should be from a
strengths
‐b
ased perspective where the school is aware of, and responsive to, leveraging the
inherent strengths and assets of the community.
3
See the NYSED policy on the definition of a Comprehensive Service Provider.
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o If the school plans to partner with a community‐based organization, applicants must
describe how that partnership will bolster or deepen student learning, both academic and
social‐
e
motional.
o H
ow will the school evaluate the effectiveness of community partnerships?
• Other supplemental information the school deems necessary such as, but not limited to, other
academic data or analyses the school feels is important for consideration.
Renewal Application School Information
Please provide the following information:
Charter School Name
School Location (City/Town/Borough if NYC)
Charter School District of Location or Community
School District if NYC
District(s) Served or Community School Districts
if NYC
Date School Opened
Charter School Term History (list
initial and all
renewal charter terms)
Enrollment on June 30, 2024
Charter Approved Maximum Enrollment
Charter Approved Grade Span
Grades Served on June 30, 2024
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Board of Trustees Cover Letter and Application for Charter Renewal Certification
Please provide the following information:
1. Upload a cover letter from the school’s board of trustees’ chair (one page or less). The letter must be
signed, dated, and approved by the board. The contents of the letter must demonstrate how the school
has met the criteria for renewal as set forth in the Regents Oversight Plan and in the standards set forth
in the school’s 2015 or 2019 Charter School Performance Framework.
2. Complete the Application for Charter Renewal in the Charter School Office portal
.
3. Sign and certify the application.
Certification Statement:
I hereby certify that the information submitted in this Application for Charter Renewal is true to the best of my
knowledge and belief; that this application has been approved by the school’s board of trustees; and that, if
awarded a renewal charter, the school shall continue to be open to all students on a space available basis, and
shall not discriminate against any student, employee or any other person on the basis of ethnicity, national
origin, gender, or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school. Admission of students
shall also not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability,
race, creed, gender, religion, or ancestry. I also certify that the board of trustees has reviewed the 2015 or 2019
Charter School Performance Framework and understands that the school will be evaluated on the basis of and
held accountable for meeting the 2015 or 2019 Charter School Performance Framework benchmarks during the
next charter term.
Signature of Chair of Board of Trustees (or designated signatory)
*Electronic Signature of Chair of Board
of Trustees (or designated signatory)
Date
Print/Type Name
Title (if designated signatory)
Date of Application Approval by Board
of Trustees
*NOTE: NYSED permits the use of electronic signatures to execute most documents. Unless the school is using
a system in compliance with the United States Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN)
Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act compliant system to apply the electronic signature (e.g.,
Adobe Acrobat certificate signature), schools wishing to make use of this option should sign documents by
hand and then scan and send them to NYSED.
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SECTION 1: ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Benchmark 1: Student Performance
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has met or exceeded achievement indicators for
academic trends toward proficiency, proficiency, and high school graduation. At all grade levels and for all
assessments, scoring proficiently means achieving a performance level of 3 or higher (high school Regents and
Common Core Regents exam score of 65 or higher).
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has met or exceeded achievement indicators for
academic trends toward proficiency, proficiency, and high school graduation. Proficiency at the
elementary/middle school level shall be defined as achieving a performance level of 3 or higher on all Grade 3-8
assessments. At the high school level, proficiency shall be defined as obtaining a Regents exam score of 65 or
higher.
Overview:
• Th
e NYSED CSO will provide schools with a comprehensive set of data tables including various analyses
of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) 3
‐8
Assessments, Regents Exams, and graduation rates.
Comparisons will be provided for any sending school district where more than 40% of the school’s
enrolled students reside or for districts that the school has a mission to serve pursuant to its charter. A
school’s Benchmark 1 narrative should reference its academic performance through the penultimate
year (second to last) of the current charter term.
• A
ttachment 1 contains preliminary tables based on the most recent available academic and enrollment
measures. For information on the source of data used by the NYSED CSO, refer to the Application for
Charter Renewal’s Appendices 2A and 2B: Benchmark 1 Data Guide.
• All schools must complete the Benchmark 1 narrative based on the most recent data that has been
provided by the NYSED CSO. Although the NYSED CSO primarily uses the metrics in Benchmark 1 for the
evaluation of charter schools eligible for renewal, schools can provide supplemental relevant data in the
Supplementary section of this application.
Notes:
o *Date is subject to change with written notice from the NYSED CSO.
o These Attachment 1 data tables should be used to respond to B1 prompts for Charter School
Performance Indicators 1, 2, and 3. The prompt asks you to provide a brief narrative to describe
trends, strengths, weaknesses, a brief rationale for these data outcomes, and strategies the school
is employing to improve outcomes.
• Whi
le the Department may consider other assessment data as supplementary evidence for a school’s
performance, this data will not supplant the mandatory Charter School Performance Framework
indicators. Charter schools may include supplementary information and data in their Benchmark 1
narrative. For example, charter high schools serving over‐
a
ge/under
‐c
redited students may choose to
include supplementary student engagement or attendance data, among other metrics. However, this
information is only supplementary and does not supplant the mandatory 2015 or 2019 Charter School
Performance Framework indicators. Only the indicators enumerated in the 2015 or 2019 Charter School
Performance Framework will be used to determine benchmark ratings. Appendix 1A lists indicators
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applicable to the 2015 Charter School Performance Framework. Appendix 1B lists indicators applicable
to the 2019 Charter School Performance Framework.
• The indicators and measures presented in Appendix 1A and 1B are based on State assessments, metrics,
and accountability requirements currently in use or planned. The Department reserves the right to revise
these measures to accommodate changes in state assessments, metrics, or accountability requirements,
including any new U.S. Department of Education requirements that may be enacted during the charter
term.
All schools are encouraged to refer to the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) Manual and
the
2015 or 2019 Charter School Performance Framework for more information on the business rules for
calculating these data points, particularly which students qualify to count as English language learners
(ELL) or students with disabilities (SWD). NYSED CSO
‐s
pecific business rules can be found in the 2015
and the 2019 Charter School Performance Frameworks in Appendix 1: Benchmark 1 Indicators, and in
Appendix 2: Benchmark 1 Data Guide. Schools that identify errors in their NYS Report Cards CANNOT
have the errors adjusted after the report card is published and should be following all applicable business
rules, data reporting deadlines, and quality control procedures as set forth by the Department. Careful
data submission and verification throughout the school’s charter term and prior to the closing of the
NYSED data warehouse is key to ensuring renewals are brought to the Regents in an accurate and timely
manner. The Department will continue to ensure that deadlines for data submission and verification are
communicated to schools.
• T
he period of evaluation for the indicators and measures presented in Appendix 1 generally spans from
the beginning of the charter term through the end of the penultimate year of the charter term. For
example, if a school’s charter term runs from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025, the data under
consideration will end with the academic results through the end of the 2023
‐2024 s
chool year. For
renewal terms, the last year of the prior charter term will generally be considered as a baseline for the
next renewal term. The Charter School Renewal Policy permits an examination of previous charter terms
in making a renewal recommendation to the Regents.
• T
he general academic standards for a full‐
ter
m renewal
4
are:
o Th
e school’s outcomes on the NYSTP 3
‐8 ma
th and ELA assessments meet or exceed the district
and approach or meet the state overall proficiency rate for the same grades.
o F
or schools that serve high school grades, cohort Regents examination pass rate outcomes are
expected to meet or exceed the state average.
o For high school graduation results, the cohort graduation rate should meet or exceed the state
graduation rate.
Directions for Completing the Benchmark 1 narrative: Referencing Appendices 1 and 2, applicable to your 2015
or 2019 Charter School Performance Framework, complete the Benchmark 1 narrative section of the renewal
application on the NYSED CSO Online Portal: Renewals by the September 4, 2024 due date. The narrative should
be aligned to the standards in the Performance Framework, and respond to the following:
For All Students, and then also for all applicable grade levels served by your school (Elementary/Middle School
Outcomes and/or High School Outcomes), please provide a brief narrative describing trends, strengths,
4
NYSED’s renewal recommendation to the Board of Regents is based on the entirety of the 2015 or 2019 Charter School Performance
Framework, the Board of Regents Renewal Policy, applicable laws and regulations, and other factors. This information is provided here
as general guidance that may differ from school to school.
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weaknesses; a brief rationale for these data outcomes; and strategies the school is employing to improve
outcomes for all applicable benchmark standards.
Benchmark 2: Teaching and Learning
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: School leaders have systems in place designed to cultivate shared
accountability and high expectations and that lead to students’ well-being, improved academic outcomes, and
educational success. The school has rigorous and coherent curriculum and assessments that are aligned to the
Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) for all students. Teachers engage in strategic practices and decision-
making in order to address the gap between what students know and need to learn so that all students experience
consistent high levels of engagement, thinking and achievement.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. Curriculum:
a. The school has a documented curriculum that is aligned to the CCLS.
b. Teachers use unit and lesson plans that introduce complex materials, stimulate higher order thinking,
and build deep conceptual understanding and knowledge around specific content.
c. The curriculum is aligned horizontally across classrooms at the same grade level and vertically between
grades.
d
. The curriculum is differentiated to provide opportunities for all students to master grade
‐le
vel skills and
concepts.
e. T
he curriculum is systematically reviewed and revised.
2. Instruction:
a. T
he school staff has a common understanding of high
‐q
uality instruction, and observed instructional
p
ractices align to this understanding.
b. Instructional delivery fosters engagement with all students.
3. Assessment and Program Evaluation:
a. The school uses a balanced system of formative, diagnostic and summative assessments.
b. The school uses qualitative and quantitative data to inform instruction and improve student outcomes.
c. The school uses qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the
academic program and modifies the program accordingly.
4. Supports for Diverse Learners:
a. The school provides supports to meet the academic needs for all students, including but not limited to:
students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students.
b. The school has systems to monitor the progress of individual students and facilitate communication
between interventionists and classroom teachers regarding the needs of individual students.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: School leaders have systems in place designed to cultivate shared
accountability and high expectations and that lead to students’ well-being, improved academic outcomes, and
educational success. The school implements research-based practices and has rigorous and coherent curriculum
and assessments that are aligned to New York State Learning Standards for all students. Teachers engage in
strategic practices and decision-making in order to address the gap between what students know and need to
learn so that all students experience consistent high levels of engagement, thinking and achievement.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. Curriculum:
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a. The school has a documented curriculum that is aligned to current New York State learning standards.
b. The curriculum is aligned horizontally across classrooms at the same grade level and vertically between
grades.
c. T
he curriculum and corresponding materials are differentiated to provide opportunities for all students
to master grade
‐le
vel skills and concepts, including students with disabilities, English language
learners/multi‐lingual learners, economically disadvantaged students, and other subgroups.
d
. The curriculum is systematically reviewed and revised.
2. Instruction:
a. T
he school staff has a shared understanding of high
‐q
uality instruction that supports all learners and
observed instructional practices align to this understanding.
b
. Instructional delivery fosters engagement with all students.
c. The school differentiates instruction to ensure equity and access for all students.
d
. The school provides staff with professional development opportunities that promote best practices and
improve all students’ success, including sub
‐gr
oups.
3. Assessment and Program Evaluation:
a. The school uses a system of formative, diagnostic, and summative assessments.
b. The school uses qualitative and quantitative data to inform instruction and improve student outcomes.
c. The school uses qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the
academic program and modifies the program accordingly for both individual students as well as
subgroups.
d. The school uses multiple measures to assess student progress toward State learning standards.
4. Supports for Diverse Learners:
a. The school follows the NYSED‐approved identification process for students with disabilities and English
language learners/multi‐
lin
gual learners.
b
. The school provides supports to meet the academic needs for all students including, but not limited to
students with disabilities, English language learners/multi‐
lin
gual learners, and economically
disadvantaged students.
c. The school has systems to monitor the progress of individual students and to facilitate communication
between interventionists and classroom teachers regarding the needs of individual students.
Benchmark 3: Culture, Climate, and Family Engagement
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has systems in place to support students’ social and
emotional health and to provide for a safe and respectful learning environment. Families, community members,
and school staff work together to share in the responsibility for student academic progress, social-emotional
growth, and well-being. Families and students are satisfied with the school’s academics and the overall
leadership and management of the school.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. Behavior Management and Safety:
a. The school has a clear approach to behavioral management, including a written discipline policy.
b. The school appears safe, and all school constituents are able to articulate how the school community
maintains a safe environment.
c. The school has systems in place to ensure that the environment is free from harassment and
discrimination.
d. Classroom environments are conducive to learning and generally free from disruption.
15
2. Family Engagement and Communication:
a. The school communicates with and engages families with the school community.
b. Teachers communicate with families to discuss students’ strengths and needs.
c. The school assesses family and student satisfaction using strategies such as surveys, feedback sessions,
community forums, or participation logs, and considers results when making schoolwide decisions.
d. The school has a systematic process for responding to family or community concerns.
e. T
he school shares school
‐le
vel academic data with the broader school community to promote
transparency and accountability among families, students, and school constituents.
3. Social‐Emotional Supports:
a. T
he school has systems or programs in place to support the social‐
e
motional needs of students.
b
. School leaders collect and use data to track the social
‐e
motional needs of students.
c. S
chool leaders collect and use data regarding the impact of programs designed to support students’
social and emotional health.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has systems in place to support students’ social and
emotional health and to provide for a positive, safe, and respectful learning environment that prepares all
students for college and career. Families, community members, and school staff work together to share in the
responsibility for student academic progress and social-emotional growth and well-being. Families and students
are satisfied with the school’s academics and the overall leadership and management of the school.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. Measures of Culture, Climate, and Student Engagement:
a. T
he school has processes and procedures in place to address chronic absenteeism for all students and
sub
‐gr
oups such that all students are fully engaged within the school community and have access to the
educational program. Given the increased autonomy to engage students, chronic absenteeism rates are
expected to be equal to or less than those of the district of location. In New York City, the district of
location is the community school district. Charter schools that have a mission or key design element to
serve students in a particular school district will also be compared to that school district. In addition,
charter schools with more than 40% of enrolled students residing in districts other than the district of
location, or the school district they are mandated to serve, will also be compared to the next highest
district where students reside.
b. The school has processes and procedures in place to address out of school suspension rates for all
students and sub
‐gr
oups such that all students are fully engaged within the school community and have
access to the educational program. Given the increased autonomy to engage students, out of school
suspension rates are expected to be equal to or less than those of the district of location. In New York
City, the district of location is the community school district. Charter schools that have a mission or key
design element to serve students in a particular school district will also be compared to that school
district. In addition, charter schools with more than 40% of enrolled students residing in districts other
than the district of location, or the school district they are mandated to serve, will also be compared to
the next highest district where students reside.
c. The school has an NYSED approved process in place to measure and evaluate school climate and culture.
2. Behavior Management and Safety:
a. The school has a clear approach to behavioral management, including a written discipline policy that is
applicable to all students, includes a policy that addresses a school’s stance toward in and out of school
suspensions, and is implemented throughout the school by all school staff with fidelity.
16
b. The school uses a tiered approach to behavioral interventions that supports student social‐emotional
development.
c. T
he school appears safe, and all school constituents are able to articulate how the school community
maintains a safe environment.
d. The school has systems in place to ensure that the environment is free from bullying, harassment, and
discrimination in accordance with the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The school has a DASA
Coordinator that staff can identify.
e. Classroom environments are conducive to learning and generally free from disruption.
3. Family Engagement and Communication:
a. The school communicates with families in their preferred language to discuss students’ strengths,
progress, and needs and engages them as part of the school community.
b. The school uses multiple methods of family engagement for all communication with all parents, in their
preferred language, regardless of the disability status or language ability of their children.
c. The school assesses family satisfaction using strategies such as surveys, feedback sessions, community
forums, or participation logs, and considers results when making schoolwide decisions.
d. The school has a systematic and transparent process for responding to family or community concerns.
e. The school shares NYSED school report card data with parents and the broader school community to
promote transparency and accountability.
f. The school shares its New York State exam participation rate compared to the district of location.
4
. Social‐
Em
otional Supports:
a. T
he school has systems, programs, and curriculum in place to support the social‐
e
motional and mental
health needs of all students.
b
. School leaders collect and use data to track the social‐
e
motional needs of all students, including students
in subgroups.
c. Sc
hool leaders collect and use data regarding the impact of programs designed to support the social and
emotional health of all students.
d
. The school provides staff with professional development opportunities to support the social
‐e
motional
and mental health of students in a culturally responsive manner.
e. The school has processes and procedures in place to address the learning and social‐emotional needs of
McKinney
‐V
ento eligible students such that all students are fully engaged within the school community
and have access to the educational program. The school has a McKinney
‐V
ento Coordinator that staff
can identify.
SECTION 2: ORGANIZATIONAL SOUNDNESS
Benchmark 4: Financial Condition
T
he NYSED CSO will provide a fiscal dashboard for each renewal school eligible applicant, outlining the fiscal
metrics used by the NYSED CSO to evaluate the financial condition of the school, pursuant to 2015 or 2019
Charter School Performance Framework standards. It also includes past years’ financial composite scores as well
as short‐term and long‐term ratios, all of which provide evidence of your school’s financial condition. When
responding to the Benchmark 4 prompts on this page and writing a narrative about your school’s financial
condition over the entire current charter term, please reference the fiscal dashboard.
20
15 and 2019 Charter School Performance Frameworks: The school is in sound and stable financial condition
as evidenced by performance on key financial indicators.
17
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators:
1. Summarize the school’s financial history, including the history of net assets, adequate cash flow to
sustain operations, support for the academic program, and consistent operation within budget.
2. Describe how the board provides fiscal due diligence and financial stewardship of the school.
3. P
rovide several examples of how the board has provided long
‐t
erm fiscal direction to the school.
4. D
escribe how the board monitors the school’s financial condition on a monthly basis.
5. Provide several examples of the documents the board reviews as part of the process to monitor the
school’s financial condition.
6. Provide any additional information the school wishes to convey regarding its financial condition.
Benchmark 5: Financial Management
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school operates in a fiscally sound manner with realistic
budgets pursuant to a long-range financial plan, appropriate internal controls and procedures, and in accordance
with state law and generally accepted accounting practices.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators:
1. The school has an accurate and functional accounting system that includes monthly budgets.
2. The school sets budget objectives and regularly analyzes its budget in relation to those objectives.
3. The school has allocated budget surpluses in a manner that is fiscally sound and directly attends to the
social and academic needs of the students attending the school.
4. The school has and follows a written set of fiscal policies.
5. The school has complied with state and federal financial reporting requirements.
6. The school has and is maintaining appropriate internal controls and procedures.
7. The school follows generally accepted accounting principles as evidenced by independent financial
audits with an unqualified audit opinion, a limited number of findings that are quickly corrected, and
the absence of a going concern disclosure.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school operates in a fiscally sound manner with realistic
budgets pursuant to a long-range financial plan, appropriate internal controls and procedures, and in accordance
with State law and generally accepted accounting practices.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. The school has financial professionals assigned to manage school finances.
2. The school has an accurate and functional accounting system that includes monthly budgets.
3. The school sets budget objectives and regularly analyzes its budget, including detailed assumptions
within the budget, in relation to those objectives.
4. The school has allocated budget surpluses in a manner that is fiscally sound and directly attends to the
social and academic needs of the students attending the school.
5. The school has and follows a written set of fiscal policies.
6. The school has complied with State and federal financial reporting requirements.
7. The school has and is maintaining appropriate internal controls and procedures.
8. The school has procedures in place to ensure that programmatic and independent fiscal audits occur at
least once annually, with such audits being comparable in scope to those required of other public
schools. Audits will be undertaken by auditing firms with experience working with New York State
charter schools and are peer reviewed.
9. The school follows generally accepted accounting principles as evidenced by independent financial
audits with an unqualified audit opinion, a limited number of findings that are quickly corrected, and the
absence of a going concern disclosure.
18
Benchmark 6: Board Oversight and Governance
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The board of trustees provides competent stewardship and
oversight of the school while maintaining policies, establishing performance goals, and implementing systems to
ensure academic success, organizational viability, board effectiveness and faithfulness to the terms of its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. The board recruits and selects board members with skills and expertise that meet the needs of the
school.
2. The board engages in strategic and continuous improvement planning by setting priorities and goals that
3. are aligned with the school’s mission and educational philosophy.
4. The board demonstrates active oversight of the charter school management, fiscal operations and
5. progress toward meeting academic and other school goals.
6. The board regularly updates school policies.
7. T
he board utilizes a performance
‐b
ased evaluation process for evaluating school leadership, itself and
8. p
roviders.
9. The board demonstrates full awareness of its legal obligations to the school and stakeholders.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The board of trustees provides competent stewardship and
oversight of the school while maintaining policies, establishing performance goals, and implementing systems to
ensure academic success, organizational viability, board effectiveness and faithfulness to the terms of its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. The board utilizes an annual written performance‐based evaluation process for evaluating school
leadership, itself, and providers.
2. Th
e board recruits and selects board members with a diverse set of skills and expertise that meet the
needs of the school and represent the community which the school serves.
3. The board demonstrates active oversight of the charter school’s management, comprehensive service
provider(s), if applicable, fiscal operations, and progress toward meeting academic and other school
goals through written evaluation processes.
4. The board engages in strategic and continuous improvement planning by setting priorities and goals that
are aligned with the school’s mission and charter.
5. The board regularly updates school policies when needed and receives NYSED approval prior to
applicable policy implementation.
6. The board engages in ongoing professional development.
7. The board demonstrates full awareness of its governance role, its legal obligations to the school and
stakeholders, and requirements of the school’s charter.
8. The board is familiar with NYSED Charter School Performance Framework standards and has a plan to
ensure that the school meets these standards.
Benchmark 7: Organizational Capacity
2015 Charter School Performance Framework:
The school has established a well-functioning organizational structure and clearly delineated roles for staff,
management, and board members. The school has systems and protocols that allow for the successful
implementation, evaluation, and improvement of its academic program and operations.
19
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. School Leadership:
a. The school has an effective school leadership team that obtains staff commitment to a clearly defined
mission and set of goals, allowing for continual improvement in student learning.
b. Roles and responsibilities for leaders, staff, management, and board members are clearly defined.
Members of the school community adhere to defined roles and responsibilities.
c. The school has clear and well‐established communication systems and decision‐making processes in
place to ensure effective communication across the school.
d
. The school successfully recruits, hires, and retains key personnel, and makes decisions – when
warranted – to remove ineffective staff members.
2. Professional Climate:
a. The school is fully staffed with high quality personnel to meet all educational and operational needs,
including finance, human resources, and communication.
b. The school has established structures for frequent collaboration among teachers.
c. The school ensures that staff has requisite skills, expertise, and professional development necessary to
meet students’ needs.
d. The school has systems to monitor and maintain organizational and instructional quality—which
includes a formal process for teacher evaluation geared toward improving instructional practice.
e. The school has mechanisms to solicit teacher feedback and gauge teacher satisfaction.
3. Contractual Relationships (If Applicable):
a. The board of trustees and school leadership establish effective working relationships with the
management company or comprehensive management service provider.
b. Changes in the school’s charter management or comprehensive service provider contract comply with
required charter amendment procedures.
c. The school monitors the efficacy of contracted service providers or partners.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework:
The school has established a well-functioning organizational structure and clearly delineated roles for staff,
management, and board members. The school has systems and protocols that allow for the successful
implementation, evaluation, and improvement of its academic program and operations.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. School Leadership:
a. The school has an effective school leadership team that communicates a clearly defined mission and
set of goals to staff and the school community.
b
. The school has clear and well‐
e
stablished communication systems and decision
‐m
aking processes in
place to ensure effective communication across the school.
c. The school successfully recruits, hires, and retains key personnel that meet the needs of all students
and subgroups, and makes decisions – when warranted – to remove ineffective staff members.
d. School leadership is familiar with NYSED Charter School Performance Framework standards and has a
plan to ensure that the school meets these standards.
2. Professional Climate:
a. Roles and responsibilities for leaders, staff, management, and the board of trustees are clearly defined
and adhered to.
20
b. The school ensures that staff has the requisite skills, expertise, and professional development necessary
to meet all students’ needs, including students in subgroups.
c. The school is fully staffed with personnel who are able to meet all operational needs, including finance,
human resources, and communications.
d. The school has established procedures for effective collaboration among teachers.
e. The school has systems to monitor and maintain organizational and instructional quality through a
formal evaluation process for teacher and other staff.
f. The school has mechanisms to solicit teacher and staff feedback and to gauge their satisfaction.
3. Contractual Relationships (If Applicable):
a. Changes in the school’s charter management or comprehensive management service provider
contract comply with required charter amendment procedures.
b. The school monitors the efficacy of contracted service providers or partners and has established an
effective working relationship.
21
SECTION 3: FAITHFULNESS TO CHARTER AND LAW
Benchmark 8: Mission and Key Design Elements
Please Note: If the school seeks to change its mission and/or key design elements, it must request revisions and
obtain approval, as per Section 4: Charter Revisions.
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school is faithful to its mission and has implemented the key
design elements outlined in its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. State your current NYSED‐approved mission statement.
2. L
ist your current NYSED
‐a
pproved key design elements.
3. S
chool stakeholders share a common and consistent understanding of the school’s mission and key
design elements outlined in the charter.
4. The school has fully implemented the key design elements in the approved charter and in any
subsequently approved revisions.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school is faithful to its mission and has implemented the key
design elements outlined in its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. State your current NYSED‐approved mission statement.
2. L
ist your current NYSED
‐a
pproved key design elements.
3. S
chool stakeholders share a common and consistent understanding of the school’s mission and key
design elements outlined in the charter, including in public
‐fac
ing materials.
4. T
he school has fully implemented the key design elements in the approved charter and in any
subsequently approved revisions.
Benchmark 9: Enrollment, Recruitment, and Retention
The NYSED CSO will provide to schools the data concerning the enrollment of subgroups and the retention of all
students and subgroups as compared to the district of location. These will include up to five years of the school’s
and district’s enrollment information. In addition, the CSO will provide data for any sending school district where
more than 40% of the school’s enrolled students reside, and for districts that the school has a mission to serve
pursuant to its charter, and, if the district of location provides less than 25% of the school’s enrollment,
comparison data for the next highest sending district may be provided.
For charters previously renewed under the 2019 Charter School Performance Framework, the school's reported
enrollment will be compared to its contracted enrollment. Should your school exceed or fail to meet the
contracted enrollment, you should discuss the situation in your application.
For charters previously renewed under the 2019 Charter School Performance Framework, the cohort‐based
persistence metric will be included here in Benchmark 9.
2
015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school is meeting or making annual progress toward meeting
the enrollment plan outlined in its charter and its enrollment and retention targets as defined by the NYSED CSO
(grade level comparisons to the school’s district of location) for students with disabilities (SWD), English language
22
learners (ELL), and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced priced lunch program (ED); or
has demonstrated that it has made extensive good faith efforts to attract, recruit, and retain such students.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within each of these elements:
1. The school maintains sufficient enrollment demand for the school to meet or come close to meeting
the enrollment plan outlined in the charter.
If the targets are not met:
2. The school is making regular and significant annual progress towards meeting the targets.
3. The school has implemented extensive recruitment strategies and program services to attract and
retain students with disabilities, English language learners, and students who are eligible for free and
reduced priced lunch. Strategies include but are not limited to: outreach to parents and families in the
surrounding communities, widely publicizing the lottery for such school, efforts to academically
support these students, and enrollment policy revisions, such as employing a weighted lottery or
enrollment preference, to increase the proportion of enrolled students from the three priority
populations.
4. The school has implemented a systematic process for evaluating recruitment and outreach strategies
and program services for each of the three categories of students, and makes strategic improvements
as needed.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school is meeting or making annual progress toward meeting
the enrollment plan outlined in its charter and its enrollment and retention targets for students with disabilities,
English language learners, and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced priced lunch
program; or has demonstrated that it has made extensive good faith efforts to attract, recruit, and retain such
students. High schools are meeting persistence rates commensurate with the NYSED target.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators:
1. Discuss trends in enrollment of special populations over the current charter term.
2. If the school is not yet serving proportions of special student populations that are comparable to the
district of location (or primary sending district), explain, in detail, the recruitment and retention
strategies and program services that were implemented over the current charter term to attract and
retain SWD, ELL, and ED students.
5
3. Describe the process currently used to evaluate recruitment and retention outreach strategies and
program services for each of the three categories of students, and what strategic improvements will be
made in the next charter term.
4. Discuss how the above recruitment and retention efforts (identified in prompt #2) resulted in an increase
in enrollment for SWD, ELL and ED students, using the data provided by the NYSED CSO.
5. Describe in detail the recruitment and retention strategies and program services that will be
implemented in the renewal term to attract and retain SWD, ELL and ED students.
5
Depending on the school’s differentials to the district of location regarding its enrollment of all students, ELL, SWD, and/or ED students,
the school may receive renewal conditions as its renewal recommendation is presented to the Board of Regents. A possible condition
placed on the school might be that it shall devise and implement a weighted lottery in consultation with the NYSED CSO no later than the
first year of its renewal charter term.
23
Benchmark 10: Legal Compliance
2015 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has complied with applicable laws, regulations, and
the provisions of its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. The school has compiled a record of substantial compliance with applicable state and federal laws and
the provisions of its charter including, but not limited to those related to student admissions and
enrollment; FOIL and Open Meetings Law; protecting the rights of students and employees; financial
management and oversight; governance and reporting; and health and safety requirements.
2. The school has undertaken appropriate corrective action when needed and has implemented necessary
safeguards to maintain compliance with all legal requirements.
3. The school has sought Board of Regents and/or Charter School Office approval for significant revisions.
2019 Charter School Performance Framework: The school has complied with applicable laws, regulations, and
the provisions of its charter.
Please provide the following information regarding how the charter school addresses each of these indicators
within this element:
1. The school has compiled a record of substantial compliance with applicable State and federal laws and
regulations and the provisions of its charter including, but not limited to those related to student
admissions and enrollment; FOIL and Open Meetings Law; protecting the rights of students and
employees; addressing complaints; financial management and oversight; governance and reporting; and
health, safety, civil rights, and student assessment requirements.
2. The school has undertaken appropriate corrective action when required, and/or as requested by the
Board of Regents and/or the NYSED Charter School Office and has implemented necessary safeguards
to maintain compliance with all legal requirements.
3. The school has a plan to ensure that teachers are certified in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations.
4. The school has sought Board of Regents and/or the NYSED Charter School Office approval for material
and non
‐m
aterial revisions.
5. Th
e school maintains sufficient enrollment demand for the school to meet the expectations detailed in
the enrollment plan outlined in the charter and within the parameters set forth in the charter
agreement.
Note: At a minimum, schools should plan to maintain the following records for possible on-site review at
renewal:
• All recruitment efforts specifically targeting SWD, ELL, or ED students;
• Academic supports made available to meet the needs of SWD, ELL, or ED students;
• Recruitment mailings and mailing lists;
• Distribution of recruitment fliers and the reasons those locations were selected;
• Meetings with community groups/potential applicants; and
• Percent of open seats that were awarded to siblings/number of siblings in the applicant pool.
Such records will assist the school in presenting data to document that it is effectively implementing
recruitment strategies to attract, and programmatic services to retain, the identified target student
populations. Further, such records will assist the school in developing a systematic process for reviewing
outreach and recruitment and retention practices and modifying those efforts as warranted.
24
6. The school seeks guidance from its legal counsel when updating documents and handling issues that
arise.
Please note:
• If a revision request is necessary, the school always needs to submit the revision request, and receive
specific approval by NYSED or Board of Regents, prior to implementation. Check the CSO Revision
Guidelines for further details, and if necessary, submit a request as per Section 4 instructions of this
application.
• When discussing all revision requests, list them.
• When discussing complaints, summarize any formal complaints filed over the course of the charter term.
Describe where the complaint was filed (to the school, board, or NYSED CSO), and information on how
the complaint was resolved. Do not include personally identifying information.
• When discussing the school’s facilities, describe how the school assures, on an ongoing basis, that its
facility meets applicable State and federal requirements, is safe and secure, and is programmatically
accessible to all persons with disabilities.
25
SECTION 4: CHARTER REVISIONS
Renewal schools must list all revision requests in the renewal application AND submit all revision requests
that the school is seeking in the NYSED CSO Online Portal
by the September 4 renewal application due date.
All requests must align to the Charter School Revision Guidelines. Once in the portal, you will be provided with
specific instructions on submitting these requests. The December 2, 2024 revision request submission due
date is for non-renewal schools. Schools that are unsure if a revision would be material or nonmaterial should
consult with their CSO liaison. For additional information, please review the
Charter School Office Revision
Application Process.
Material Charter Revisions:
Material revisions to a school’s charter must be approved by the Board of Regents before they may be
implemented by a school.
6
If the school is proposing one or more material revisions to its charter, the school
must list each revision request in the renewal application and must submit each revision request to the
NYSED CSO Online Portal: Revisions. Proposed material charter revisions will be considered on the basis of
NYSED CSO review of all required documentation, as per the Charter Revision Guidelines.
Including a material charter revision request in the application does not constitute automatic approval by
the Board of Regents, as requests will be considered and specifically approved on a case-by-case basis.
Material revisions will be placed in the CSO notification letter sent to the school’s district of location, along
with the request for renewal. Material revision requests then being recommended by the Department will be
included in the renewal item sent to the Board of Regents in the Spring of 2025.
I
f approved, material revisions submitted with renewal applications would go into effect in the 2025
‐2
026
school year. If a material revision request does not appear in the Board of Regents (BOR) item for
renewal/revisions, the request has not been forwarded to the BOR, and is therefore NOT approved. For a
material revision request to be considered, it is important that you clearly request the revision and submit
every required document in this section. Any items not specifically approved by the Regents are deemed
denied.
N
on-Material Charter Revisions:
Non‐material revision requests to a school’s charter must be specifically approved by the NYSED CSO on
behalf of the Commissioner before they are implemented by a school. If the school is proposing one or more
non
‐m
aterial revisions to its charter, the school must list each revision request in the renewal application
and must submit each revision request to the NYSED CSO Online Portal: Revisions. In order for a non-
material revision request to be considered, it is important that you clearly request the revision and submit
every required document in this section.
I
ncluding a non-material charter revision request in the application does not constitute automatic approval
by the NYSED CSO, as requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The CSO will send the school an
approval/denial email regarding each non-material revision request no later than when it informs the school
leader/Board Chair of the BOR vote on the renewal recommendation. Revision requests that have not
been specifically approved in writing are deemed denied, even if no denial notice has been received.
All schools are asked to review their original charter and request a revision for any changes not specifically
approved in writing by the Regents or the Commissioner.
6
Failure to specifically approve a revision request constitutes a denial.
26
Note: In some instances, upon NYSED CSO review, while the school did not submit a revision request, the liaison
may ask the school to submit a revision request should there be inconsistent information in the application,
such as increasing enrollment in the budget and narrative, a different mission, a different organizational chart,
different key design elements, etc. but the school did not submit a revision request.
SECTION 5: ATTACHMENTS
Provide the following documents, labeled with the attachment letters as shown. If an attachment is not
applicable, submit the attachment template with the text “Not Applicable.” For each attachment (with the
exception of the proposed budget for next year, Attachment E), include ONLY the school’s current NYSED-
approved document. Note: If changes are being considered for the next charter term, please also list the
proposed revision in the renewal application and submit redlined versions of the proposed revisions in the
NYSED CSO Online Portal: Revisions in Section 4: Charter Revisions following all instructions found in the NYSED
CSO Charter Revision Guidelines
.
A
ttachment A: School Calendar. Schools must provide a 2024
‐20
25 school calendar in the 2023
‐2
024 Annual
Report to indicate the start and end date of the instructional year and the total number of instructional days
that were scheduled. That calendar will be used during your renewal site visit. In this renewal application,
provide a school calendar for the first year of the proposed renewal charter term (2025
‐2
026) that clearly
indicates the total number of instructional days to be scheduled for each grade for each year (if the calendar is
different for different grades) AND the number of instructional hours and instructional days for each month.
The calendar must be in grid format. Please note: If the school is proposing a material or nonmaterial revision
to its calendar in Section 4 of the renewal application, please also provide a proposed school calendar that
reflects the revision request, and clearly label the calendars to differentiate them.
Attachment B: Master School Schedule. Provide the school’s schedule for 2024‐2025 (last year of the current
charter term) and the schedule for 2025
‐2
026 (first year of the proposed renewal charter term).
• C
learly detail the total hours of instruction to be provided and in which grade levels and/or courses.
Where different grades have different schedules, all such schedules should be provided.
• Identify if the school’s daily schedule differs from day to day (e.g., A, B, C days, or where special programs
may be taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays only).
• Identify classrooms that include ELL and SWD.
• Identify the teacher(s) of each grade/course.
• If the school serves high school grades, submit a schedule that allows the NYSED CSO to determine if the
high school has provided the number of instructional units each year as required by law and the NYSED
Commissioner’s Regulations, such that the school may award a terminal degree.
Please note: If the school is proposing a material or nonmaterial revision to its school schedule in Section 4 of
the renewal application, please also provide a proposed school schedule that reflects the revision request, and
clearly label each schedule provided to differentiate them.
Attachment C: Complaint Policy. Provide ONLY the school’s current NYSED-approved complaint policy unless
the school is proposing revisions to the policy as part of Section 4 of the renewal application. If a revision is
proposed, please also provide a redlined version of the proposed policy, and clearly label each complaint policy
to differentiate them. Include the year (e.g., 2024) of the policy version in the file name of the uploaded
document(s). Please note: NYSED requires that all complaint policies include contact information for the school’s
board of trustees. The complaint policy must clearly state that persons with formal complaints alleging a
violation of the law or the school’s charter may initiate complaints directly with the school’s board of trustees,
27
without going to school staff or leadership as a first step and may not include a deadline for filing complaints
with the board of trustees.
Attachment D: Student Discipline Policy/ Code of Conduct and DASA Policy. Provide the school’s current
NYSED-approved student discipline policy and code of conduct unless the school is proposing revisions to the
policy as part of section 4 of the renewal application. If a revision is proposed, please also provide a redlined
version of the proposed policy, and clearly label each discipline policy to differentiate them. Include the year
(e.g., 2024) of the policy version in the file name of the uploaded document(s). Provide a signed statement from
the school’s attorney that the policy follows all applicable federal and state laws. If the school’s DASA policy is
not incorporated into the discipline policy / code of conduct, it must be submitted separately. The discipline
complaint policy must clearly state that in the event a manifestation determination review (MDR) determines
that the conduct of a student with a disability is attributable to that disability, the student must immediately be
permitted to return to the school, in lieu of beginning or completing the period of suspension.
Attachment E: Proposed Budget (Excel template). Use ONLY the
20
25
‐20
30 5‐
Y
R Renewal Budget Template
to
submit the school’s proposed budget for the renewal charter term. The school’s budget may not include student
enrollment that exceeds what has been approved by the Board of Regents. However, to budget conservatively,
the school may project enrollment that is no greater than 15% below authorized enrollment. Label this budget
as “Attachment E Proposed Budget.” All assumptions or explanations should be identified in the far‐
r
ight
column. Ensure that the proposed budget aligns to all areas of the narrative as sufficient funding needs to be
available in order to implement all aspects of the school’s plan. Note: Each school must have $100,000 in escrow
for legal and audit expenses associated with possible dissolution. In the Assumptions column of the budget,
add a note describing the status of the education corporation’s escrow account.
Please Note: If the school is proposing material or nonmaterial revisions that affect the school’s budget, then
the revision request needs to be listed in the renewal application and submitted to the NYSED CSO Online Portal:
Revisions, as noted in Section 4 of the renewal application. Along with all other required documents for this
revision, you will need to provide an additional budget that reflects the proposed revision(s).
Attachment F: By-laws and Code of Ethics. Provide the current NYSED-approved board of trustees’ by‐laws and
code of ethics unless the school is proposing revisions to the by
‐l
aws/code of ethics as part of Section 4 of the
renewal application. If a revision is proposed, please also provide a redlined version of the proposed by
‐l
aws,
and clearly label each document to differentiate them. Include the year (e.g., 2024) of the by-laws/code of ethics
version in the file name of the uploaded document(s).
Attachment G: Board of Trustees Information. In addition to completing the table below, please provide a copy
of the board’s current strategic plan (if any).
Trustee
Name
and
Email
Address
Position on the
Board (e.g.,
officers or
constituent
representatives)
Voting
Member
of the
Board?
(Y/N)
Committee
Affiliation(s)
Areas of
Expertise
Number of Terms Served including
Duration of Each term (MM/DD/YY
to MM/DD/YY)
28
Total members joining the board over the charter term:
Total members leaving the board over the charter term:
Total members at the beginning of the charter term:
Total members at the end of the charter term:
Attachment H: Organizational Chart. Provide an organizational chart for the last year of the current charter
term (2024
‐20
25) and for the first year of the proposed renewal charter term (2025‐
20
26), including titles of key
staff positions, and the school’s reporting structure. The submission must be in chart format and cannot be a list
of roles and supervisors. Please note: Changes in the organizational/leadership structure of the school require
the submission of a revision request. Organizational changes, including those in which the school has added or
removed reporting lines at the school leader level or above since the organizational chart was last approved, are
now non
‐m
aterial revisions. If the school is proposing revisions to the organizational chart as part of Section 4
of the renewal application, please also provide a redlined version of the proposed organizational chart, and
clearly label each document to differentiate them. Include the year (e.g., 2024) of the organizational chart
version in the file name of the uploaded document(s).
Attachment I: Proposed Contract with Comprehensive Service Provider, Charter Management Organization,
or Other Entity that Provides Comprehensive Management Services. If there is no such contract, upload the
Attachment I template and label it N/A. If applicable, provide the school’s current NYSED-approved contract
with the educational service provider, charter management organization, or other entity that provides
comprehensive management services for the next charter term. If the school plans to continue to contract with
an educational service provider, charter management organization, or other entity that provides comprehensive
management services during the next charter period, include the fully negotiated (but not executed)
management contract, together with evidence that the school’s attorney has reviewed the contract and the
board has approved its execution subject to the Board of Regents’ renewal approval. If the contract has yet to
be negotiated, provide an explanation along with a timetable for that process to be completed. Such timetable
should, in all instances, allow sufficient time for the NYSED CSO to review the completed contract prior to the
time that the NYSED CSO must make its recommendation on the Application for Charter Renewal. If the school
intends to begin or discontinue contracting with an educational service provider, charter management
organization, or other entity that provides comprehensive management services for the next charter term, the
school must submit information on these plans in response to the instructions in Section 4: Charter Revisions.
Information regarding whether a contract may be deemed a contract for comprehensive management services
may be found at NYSED Definition of an Entity that Provides Comprehensive Management Services
. Questions
should be directed to the NYSED CSO at [email protected]. Please note: If the school’s contract does
not contain all of the terms and information required in Exhibit C of the charter agreement, the school must also
submit a redlined version of the contract as part of Section 4 of the renewal application and must clearly label
each document to differentiate them. Include the year (e.g., 2024) of the contract version in the file name of the
uploaded document(s).
A
ttachment J: Enrollment and Admissions Policy. Provide ONLY the school’s current NYSED-approved
enrollment and admissions policy unless the school is proposing revisions to the policy as part of Section 4 of
the renewal application. If a revision is proposed, please also provide a redlined version of the proposed policy,
and clearly label each enrollment policy to differentiate them. Include the year (e.g., 2024) of the policy version
in the file name of the uploaded document(s). Please ensure the policy includes the full non‐discrimination
statement set forth in the Uniform Application Form
, along with information related to enrollment criteria,
29
backfills, when and how to apply, enrollment preferences, weighted lotteries and set asides. The policy must
clearly state that notice of the date, time, and place of the lottery will be provided in accordance with Public
Officers Law section 104, and the lottery will be held in accordance with section 119.5 of the Commissioner’s
Regulations.
Attachment K: Proposed Enrollment Table. Using the table below, provide the proposed student enrollment for
each year of the proposed charter renewal term. The total number of students served must not exceed the
maximum number of students approved in the school’s current charter, and grades served must correspond
with those approved in the current charter term. Note: If the school is proposing an increase in maximum
approved enrollment of 15% or 200 students, whichever is lesser, and/or a change in grades served, the school
must request a material revision (see Section 4: Charter Revisions). An increase in enrollment of less than 15%
or 200 students above the currently authorized enrollment may be requested as a non-material revision.
Grade
Year 1
2025-2026
Year 2
2026-2027
Year 3
2027-2028
Year 4
2028-2029
Year 5
2029-2030
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Ungraded
Total
Attachment L: Certificate of Occupancy and Fire Inspection. Provide a copy of a current and non‐expired
certificate of occupancy (if outside NYC or in private space in NYC). Except for schools in district space (co
‐
lo
cations), all schools must also provide a copy of the current annual fire inspection results. Note: Do not submit
a copy of your fire sprinkler or alarm inspection results. See
examples of required fire inspection reports
required.
30
Attachment M: Fiscal Impact Table.
Please complete the table below for each of the five years represented. Charter schools located in NYC should
use the entire NYCDOE to gauge fiscal impact. Please footnote your sources and assumptions.
Projected Fiscal Impact upon District of Location
Column A Column B Column C Column D Column E Column F Column G Column H
Year
Number of
Enrolled
Students
Charter School
Basic Per Pupil
Tuition Rate
Total Charter School Per
Pupil Cost to District
Estimated Additional
Costs to District (e.g.,
SPED funds)
Total
Projected
Funding from
District
Total
District
General
Fund
Budget
Projected
Percentage
Impact on
District
Budget
2025‐2026
Note:
Estimated
number of
students
residing in
the school
district.
Note: See
https://stateaid.n
ysed.gov/charter/.
Note: Column B multiplied
by Column C.
Note: Use the total amount
of special education funding
received from the district
this past academic year.
Note: Column D
plus Column E.
Note: See
school
district’s
website.
Note: Column
F divided by
column G.
2026‐2027
2027‐2028
2028‐2029
2029‐2030
Attachment N: Narrative Outlining Innovative Aspects of the Charter School. Referencing the charter and key
design elements, describe what makes the academic program of this school innovative and different from other
options currently available in the district of location. What sets this school apart from others? These may be
academic or operational components of the charter school. Note: Limit this narrative to one page.
31
SECTION 6: APPENDICES
Appendix 1A: 2015 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Indicators
Renewal is based on evidence that the following targets are generally met:
Indicator Measure Description
Minimum
Expectations
7
Target
Outcome
1. All Schools
1a.
Accountability
All
Students &
Subgroups
(i)
ESEA Accountability
Designation
Reward, Good Standing, Local Assistance
Plan, Focus or Priority School Status
Good Standing Reward
1b.
Similar Schools Comparison
All Students
&
Subgroups
(i)
Comparative Proficiency
Comparison of the performance of all
schools in NYS with the
same grade
configuration and similar population of
students identified as economically
disadvantaged, students with disabilities
and English language learners.
Performance is based on schools’
aggregate proficiency compared to the
NYS average on 3‐8 ELA and mathematics
assessments and/or high school cohort
ELA and mathematics outcomes.
At least 1
standard
deviation
above the
mean
Greater than 1
standard
deviation
above the
mean
7
With limited exception, all schools are expected to meet the minimum expectations. Meeting minimum expectations does not
guarantee renewal. Further, the failure to progress toward target outcomes may adversely affect the renewal recommendation.
32
Indicator Measure Description
Minimum
Expectations
Target
Outcome
2. Elementary/Middle School Outcomes
2a.
Trending Toward Proficiency
All Students
(i)
A
ggregate Standards
‐B
ased
Trend Toward Proficiency
% of students in the school maintaining a
proficient testing level or trending
toward proficiency from one year’s test
administration to the next. Analysis will
examine proficiency maintenance or
improvement of all students in the school
compared to each student’s previous
year’s test scores.
Maintenance
or increase in
75% of total
tested
students’
proficiency
levels
Maintenance or
increase in
100% of total
tested students’
proficiency
levels
Schools can track students’ annual growth by determining the percent of the total student population who: a) moved from level 1 à 2, 3 or 4; b) moved
from level 2 à 3 or 4; c) remained at level 3; d) moved from level 3 à 4; or e) remained at level 4.
Subgroups
(ii)
S
ubgroup Standards
‐B
ased
Trend Toward Proficiency
% of students in the school maintaining a
proficient testing level or trending
toward proficiency from one year’s test
administration to the next. Analysis will
examine proficiency
maintenance or
improvement of students in the school
who are economically disadvantaged,
students with disabilities, and English
language learners, compared to each
student’s previous year’s test scores.
Maintenance
or increase in
75% of total
tested
subgroup
proficiency
levels
Maintenance or
increase in
100% of total
tested students’
subgroup
proficiency
levels
Schools can track students’ annual growth by determining the percent of each student subgroup who: a) moved from level 1 à 2, 3 or 4; b) moved from
level 2 à 3 or 4; c) remained at level 3; d) moved from level 3 à 4; or e) remained at level 4.
2b.
Proficiency
All Students
(i)
Aggregate School Level
Proficiency
%
of students who score proficiently on
3‐8 state assessments for all students at
the school level
.
D
istrict
Average
State Average
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup School Level
Proficiency
%
of students who score proficiently on
3
‐8
state assessments by subgroup at the
school level compared to the subgroup.
Includes students who are economically
disadvantaged, students with disabilities
and English language learners.
District
Average
State Average
All Students
(iii) Grade Level Proficiency
%
of students who score proficiently on
3‐8 state assessments for all students by
grade level.
D
istrict
Average
State Average
33
Indicator
Measure
Description
Target
3. High School Outcomes
3a.
Regents Testing Outcomes
All
Students
(i)
Aggregate Annual Regents
Outcomes
8
Annual Regents testing outcomes for every tested subject for
all students
State
Average
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup Annual Regents
Outcomes
Annual Regents testing outcomes for every tested subject by
subgroup
State
Average
All
Students
(iii)
Aggregate Total Cohort
Regents Testing Outcomes
Cohort Regents testing outcomes for ELA, mathematics,
science, Global History and US History for all students
State
Average
Subgroups
(iv)
Subgroup Total Cohort
Regents Testing Outcomes
Cohort Regents testing outcomes for ELA, mathematics,
science, Global History and US History by subgroup
State
Average
3b.
Graduation Outcomes
All
Students
(i)
Aggregate Cohort Graduation
Rate
4‐year and 5‐year graduation rate for all students (6-year
graduation rate for transfer schools only)
9
. Includes August
graduation rates (except for the 6
‐
year rate as this is not
collected data).
80%
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup Cohort Graduation
Rate
4‐year and 5‐year graduation rate for students identified as
economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, and
English language learners (6-year graduation rate for transfer
schools only). Includes August graduation rates (except for the
6‐year rate as this is not collected data).
80%
All
Students
(iii)
Ag
gregate On‐
Tr
ack to
Graduate
%
of all students in a cohort that have passed 3 out of 5 Regents
exams required for graduation by their 3
rd
year of high school
(transfer school cohorts will be measured by their 4
th
year of
high school in passing 3 out of 5 Regents exams)
75%
Subgroups
(iv)
S
ubgroup On
‐Tr
ack to
Graduate
%
of cohort by subgroup that has passed 3 out of 5 Regents
exams required for graduation by their 3
rd
year of high school
(transfer school cohort subgroups will be measured by their 4
th
year of high school in passing 3 out of 5 Regents exams)
75%
8
Students are included in the Annual Regents Testing Outcomes if during the school year being reported, they had a Regents assessment
score and were enrolled at the time the assessment was administered. In circumstances when a student takes the same assessment more
than once during the school year being reported, only the highest score for that school year is reported.
9
The state accountability graduation target is always set at 80%.
34
All Students
(v)
Aggregate Student
Persistence
10
% of students in a 4‐year and 5‐year cohort that remain
enrolled in the school until they graduate from the high school
program (6-year rate for transfer schools only). Includes the
August rate (except for the 6‐year rate as this is not collected
data).
85%
Subgroups
(vi)
Subgroup Student
Persistence
% of students identified as economically disadvantaged,
students with disabilities, and English language learners in a 4‐
year and 5‐year cohort that remain enrolled in the school until
they graduate from the high school program (6-year rate for
transfer schools only). Includes the August rate (except for the
6‐year rate as this is not collected data).
85%
10
Persistence is defined as any student who enters the cohort in the 9
th
grade and remains enrolled in the school until graduating from
the high school program. This measure should be calculated as the number of students who dropped out plus the number of those with
unknown outcomes divided by the cohort enrollment as of June of the academic reporting year.
35
Appendix 1B: 2019 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Indicators
Renewal is based on evidence that the following targets are generally met:
Indicator Measure Description
Minimum
Expectations
11
Target Outcome
12
1. All Schools
1a.
Accountability
All
Students &
Subgroups
(i)
ESEA Accountability
Designation
Recognition, Good Standing, Targeted
Support and Improvement, and
Comprehensive Support and
Improvement Schools.
Good Standing Recognition
1b.
Similar Schools Comparison
All Students
&
Subgroups
(i)
Comparative Proficiency
Comparison of the performance of all
schools in NYS with similar grade
configurations and similar population
of students identified as students with
disabilities, English language
learners/multi‐
lingual learners, and
economically disadvantaged students.
Performance is based
on charter
schools’ aggregate proficiency
compared to similar schools (district
schools and/or charter schools) on 3‐8
ELA, math, and science assessments
and/or high school cohort graduation
rate outcomes.
At least the
mean
Greater than the
mean
2. Elementary/Middle School Outcomes
2a.
Trending Toward Proficiency (Growth)
All Students
(i)
A
ggregate Standards
‐B
ased
Trend Toward Proficiency –
Math and ELA
The % of students in the school
maintaining a proficient testing level (3
or 4) or trending toward proficiency from
one year’s test administration to the
next.
Maintenance
or increase in
60% of total
tested
students’
proficiency
levels
Maintenance or
increase in 80% of
total tested
students’
proficiency levels
Schools can track students’ annual growth by determining the percent of the total student population who: a) moved from level 1 à 2, 3 or 4; b) moved from
level 2 à 3 or 4; or c) remained proficient at either a level 3 or 4.
11
With limited exception, all Board of Regents‐authorized charter schools are expected to meet the minimum expectations as set forth
in this document. Failure to do so may adversely affect the renewal outcome up to and including non‐renewal. Meeting minimum
expectations is not a guarantee of renewal.
12
Failure to progress toward target outcomes may adversely affect the renewal outcome.
36
Subgroups
(ii)
S
ubgroup Standards
‐B
ased
Trend Toward Proficiency –
Math and ELA
The % of students with disabilities,
English language learners/multi‐lingual
learners, and economically
disadvantaged students in the school
maintaining a proficient testing level (3
or 4) or trending toward proficiency from
one year’s test administration
to the
next.
Maintenance
or increase in
60% of total
tested
subgroup
proficiency
levels
Maintenance or
increase in 80% of
total tested
students’
subgroup
proficiency levels
Schools can track students’ annual growth by determining the percent of the total student population who: a) moved from level 1 à 2, 3 or 4; b) moved from
level 2 à 3 or 4; or c) remained proficient at either a level 3 or 4.
2b.
Proficiency
All
Students
(i)
Aggregate School Level
Proficiency – Math, ELA, and
Science
The % of students who score proficiently
on 3‐8 State assessments for all students
at the school level
.
D
istrict
Proficiency
Rate
State Proficiency
Rate
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup School Level
Proficiency – Math, ELA, and
Science
The % of students who score proficiently
on 3‐8 State assessments by subgroup at
the school level compared to the
subgroup. Includes students with
disabilities, English language
learners/multi‐ling
ual learners, and
economically disadvantaged students.
District
Proficiency
Rate
State Proficiency
Rate
All Students
(iii)
Aggregate Grade Level
Proficiency – Math, ELA, and
Science
Th
e % of students who score proficiently
on 3
‐8
State assessments for all students
by grade level.
13
District
Proficiency
Rate
State Proficiency
Rate
Subgroups
(iv)
Subgroup Grade Level
Proficiency – Math, ELA, and
Science
The % of students who score proficiently
on 3
‐
8 State assessments for each
subgroup by grade level.
14
District
Proficiency
Rate
State Proficiency
Rate
Indicator
Measure
Description
Target
3. High School Outcomes
3a.
Regents Exam Outcomes
All
Students
(i)
Aggregate Total Cohort
Regents Testing Outcomes
4‐year, 5‐year, and 6‐year cohort Regents testing outcomes for
ELA, Mathematics, Science, Global History and Geography, and
US History and Government, or a NYSED approved equivalent,
for all students with an emphasis on the final testing outcome
State Passing
Rate
13
Inclusive of annual Regents outcomes for 7th and 8
th
grade students, when applicable, as described in the Notes above.
14
Inclusive of annual Regents outcomes for 7th and 8th grade students, when applicable, as described in the Notes above.
37
for students.
15
Passing shall be defined as obtaining a Regents
exam score of 65 or higher.
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup Total Cohort
Regents Testing Outcomes
4‐year, 5‐year, and 6‐year cohort Regents testing outcomes for
ELA, Mathematics, Science, Global History and Geography, and
US History and Government, or a NYSED approved equivalent,
by subgroup with an emphasis on the final testing outcome for
students.
16
Passing shall be defined as obtaining a Regents
exam score of 65 or higher.
State Passing
Rate
All Students
(iii)
Aggregate College and Career
Readiness
4‐year cohort Regents testing outcomes for ELA and
Mathematics, or a NYSED approved equivalent, for graduating
students.
17
College and career readiness shall be defined as
obtaining a Regents exam score of 75 or higher on the ELA
Regents test and 80 or higher on any Regents Math test.
State College
and Career
Readiness
Rate
Subgroups
(iv)
Subgroup College and Career
Readiness
4‐year cohort Regents testing outcomes for ELA and
Mathematics, or a NYSED approved equivalent, for graduating
student subgroups.
18
College and career readiness
shall be
defined as obtaining a Regents exam score of 75 or higher on
the ELA Regents test and 80 or higher on any Regents Math
test.
State College
and Career
Readiness
Rate
3b.
Graduation Outcomes
All
Students
(i)
Aggregate Cohort Graduation
Rate
4‐y
ear (August), 5
‐y
ear (August), and 6
‐y
ear (June) graduation
rate for all students with an emphasis on the final graduation
outcome for students.
S
tate
Graduation
Rate
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup Cohort Graduation
Rate
4‐year (August), 5‐year (August), and 6‐year (June) graduation
rate for students identified as students with disabilities, English
language learners/multi‐
lingual learners, and economically
disadvantaged students with an emphasis on the final
graduation outcome for students.
State
Graduation
Rate
All Students
(iii)
Ag
gregate On‐
Tr
ack to
Graduate
% of all students in a cohort who have passed 3 out of 5 Regents
exams, or a NYSED approved equivalent, required for
graduation by August of the end of the student’s 3
rd
year of
high school (overage/under
‐
credited school cohorts will be
measured by their 4
th
year of high school in passing 3 out of 5
Regents exams by August of that year).
State
Graduation
Rate Percent
15
Annual Regents exam outcomes will be substituted for Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes when cohort outcomes are
not available. Annual Regents exam outcome tables may still be provided to schools for informational purposes only.
16
Annual Regents exam outcomes will be substituted for Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes when cohort outcomes are
not available.
17
Annual Regents exam outcomes will be substituted for Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes when cohort outcomes are
not available. Annual Regents exam outcome tables may still be provided to schools for informational purposes only.
18
Annual Regents exam outcomes will be substituted for Subgroup Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes when cohort outcomes are
not available. Annual Regents exam outcome tables may still be provided to schools for informational purposes only.
38
Subgroups
(iv)
S
ubgroup On
‐Tr
ack to
Graduate
% of cohort by subgroup that has passed 3 out of 5 Regents
exams, or a NYSED approved equivalent, required for
graduation by the end of the student’s 3
rd
year of high school
(overage/under
‐
credited school cohort subgroups will be
measured by their 4
th
year of high school in passing 3 out of 5
Regents exams).
State
Graduation
Rate Percent
2019 Performance Framework Benchmark 9: Enrollment, Recruitment, and Retention
Indicator Measure Description
Minimum
Expectations
Target
Outcome
1.All Schools
1a.
Enrollment
All Students
(i) Aggregate Enrollment
Comparison of a charter school's
reported enrollment vs. their contracted
enrollment for that year.
At least 85%
and no more
than 100% of
contracted
enrollment
100% of
contracted
enrollment
Subgroups
(ii) Subgroup Enrollment
Comparison of a charter school's
enrollment of students with disabilities,
ELL/MLLs, and economically
disadvantaged students with the district
of location's enrollment of the same
subgroups.
No less than 5 percentage points
lower than the district of location,
or other focus district when
applicable
1b.
Retention
All Students
(i) Aggregate Retention
Percentage of students who have been
retained in the charter school from BEDS
Day in one year to the next BEDS Day.
No less than 5 percentage points
lower than the district of location,
or other focus district when
applicable
Subgroup
s
(ii) Subgroup Retention
Percentage of students with disabilities,
ELL/MLLs and economically
disadvantaged students who have been
retained in the charter school from BEDS
Day in one year to the next BEDS Day.
No less than 5 percentage points
lower than the district of location,
or other focus district when
applicable
1c.
High School Persistence
19
All Students
(i)
Aggregate Cohort Graduation
Persistence Rate
The % of students who start in the 9
th
grade in the 4‐year (August), 5‐year
(August), and 6
‐y
ear (June) graduation
cohort and remain enrolled in the school
until they graduate from the high school
program.
85%
19
Persistence is defined as any students who enters the cohort in the 9
th
grade and remains enrolled in the school until graduating from
the high school program.
39
Subgroups
(ii)
Subgroup Cohort Graduation
Persistence Rate
The % of students in sub‐groups who
start in the 9
th
grade in the 4‐year
(August), 5‐year (August), and 6‐year
(June) graduation cohort and remain
enrolled in the school until they
graduate from the high school program.
85%
40
Appendix 2A: 2015 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Data Guide
A
cademic information is most useful to schools when they can track, compare, and predict their own data.
Benchmark 1 is designed and intended to be a tool that schools can use to make programmatic decisions as well
as track their academic standing each year of the charter term leading to renewal. Below is a guide for accessing
these data indicators. While a school may be able to access school
‐le
vel data reports, district and statewide data
needed for comparisons may not be available until a later date. Schools should closely monitor public data
release dates from the Office of Information and Reporting Services (IRS) and the IRS Portal announcements as
this will determine when comparative data can be accessed. The Charter School Office may update these links
periodically as data reporting information changes.
1a.(i)
ESEA Accountability Designation
http://www.nysed.gov/accountability/essa-accountability-designations
School Data
1b.(i)
Comparative Proficiency
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/statistics/enroll-n-staff/home.html
NYS Report Card Data
School Data &
Similar Schools
2a.(i)
Aggregate Standards‐Based Trend Toward Proficiency
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
(Student Level)
School Data
2a.(ii)
Subgroup Standards‐Based Trend Toward Proficiency
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
(Student Level)
School Data
2b.(i)
Aggregate School Level Proficiency
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State Data
2b.(ii)
Subgroup School Level Proficiency
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State Data
2b.(iii)
Grade Level Proficiency
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
41
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State Data
3a.(i)
Aggregate Annual Regents Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-309: Annual Regents Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(ii)
Subgroup Annual Regents Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-309: Annual Regents Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(iii)
Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(iv)
Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Testing Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3b.(i)
Aggregate Cohort Graduation Rate
L2RPT Report SIRS-201: Total Cohort – Summary or
NYS Report Card Data
School Data
3b.(ii)
Subgroup Cohort Graduation Rate
L2RPT Report SIRS-201: Total Cohort – Summary or
NYS Report Card Data
School Data
3b.(iii)
Aggregate On‐Track to Graduate
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary (Student Level)
School Data
3b.(iv)
Subgroup On‐Track to Graduate
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary (Student Level)
School Data
3b.(v)
Aggregate Student Persistence
43
Appendix 2B: 2019 Performance Framework Benchmark 1 Data Guide
A
cademic information is most useful to schools when they can track, compare, and predict their own data.
Benchmark 1 is designed with this in mind and is intended to be a tool that schools can use to make
programmatic decisions as well as track their academic standing each year of the charter term leading to
renewal. Below is a guide for accessing these data indicators. While a school may be able to access school‐
le
vel
data reports, district and statewide data needed for comparisons may not be available until a later date. Schools
should closely monitor public data release dates from the Office of Information and Reporting Services and the
IRS Portal announcements as this will determine when comparative data can be accessed. The NYSED Charter
School Office may update these links periodically as data reporting information changes.
1a.(i)
ESEA Accountability Designation
http://www.nysed.gov/accountability/essa-accountability-designations
School Data
1b.(i)
Comparative Proficiency
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/statistics/enroll-n-staff/home.html
School Data &
NYS Report Card Data
Similar Schools
2a.(i)
Aggregate Standards‐Based Trend Toward Proficiency – Math and ELA
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
(Student Level)
School Data
2a.(ii)
Subgroup Standards‐Based Trend Toward Proficiency – Math and ELA
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
(Student Level)
School Data
2b.(i)
Aggregate School Level Proficiency – Math, ELA, and Science
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State
Data
2b.(ii)
Subgroup School Level Proficiency – Math, ELA, and Science
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State
Data
2b.(iii)
Aggregate Grade Level Proficiency – Math, ELA, and Science
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
44
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State
Data
2b.(iv)
Subgroup Grade Level Proficiency – Math, ELA, and Science
L2RPT Report SIRS-301: Tested/Not Tested Confirmation Report
School Data
NYS Report Card Data or
NYS 3-8 Data Release
District/State
Data
3a.(i)
Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Exam Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(ii)
Aggregate Total Cohort Regents Exam Outcomes
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(iii)
College and Career Readiness
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3a.(iv)
College and Career Readiness
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
NYS Report Card Data
State Data
3b.(i)
Aggregate Cohort Graduation Rate
L2RPT Report SIRS-201: Total Cohort – Summary or
NYS Report Card Data
School Data
3b.(ii)
Subgroup Cohort Graduation Rate
L2RPT Report SIRS-201: Total Cohort – Summary or
NYS Report Card Data
School Data
3b.(iii)
Aggregate On‐Track to Graduate
L2RPT Report SIRS-202: Total Cohort – Assessment Summary
School Data
