Charter Board Denies IDEA PCS 15-year Charter Renewal Petition

March 19, 2013

Washington, D.C. — The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) voted Monday not to renew the charter of Integrated Design Electronics Academy (IDEA) Public Charter School for another 15 year-term and recommended that the school be placed on probation for three years, with several conditions that must be met or the school would close.

The Board’s 6-0 vote not to renew the charter was based on PCSB’s finding that the school failed to meet the academic goals as set forth in its charter, including improved student performance on standardized tests and student reenrollment at IDEA to complete the course of study. According to the School Reform Act, the chartering authority shall not renew a charter for an additional 15-year term if the school commits a material violation of the law, or fails to meet the goals and academic achievement expectations as set forth in its charter.

However, the Board is recommending probation under a provision of the School Reform Act that gives two alternatives upon nonrenewal of a charter. The law calls for these alternatives to be exercised by the DC Board of Education, which was dissolved in 2007 when local education agency functions were transferred to the Mayor after the passage of the Public Education Reform Amendment Act.

In addition, IDEA PCS has been operating under a restructuring plan approved by PCSB in 2012, which called for a restructuring team that would do a thorough review of the school’s academic and business operations and institute changes as needed. The school submitted a restructuring report in May 2012 and is operating under new leadership, among other changes that have been implemented and are being monitored by PCSB.

As a result, the Board recommended probation with the following five terms:

1. The school must continue executing the restructuring plan according to its May 2012 report.
2. The school must show progressive improvement on its Performance Management Framework (PMF) score for three years and score within 1 percentage point of the following targets -- otherwise it would close at the end of the subsequent school year:

a. School year 2012-13: 40.0%

b. School year 2013-14: 45.0%

c. School year 2014-15: 50.0%

3.    IDEA must not commit any material violations of state, federal and/or special education law during probation.
4.    IDEA must submit regular reports to PCSB detailing its turnaround effort, including results from interim student assessments on the following schedule: April 15 (detailing progress from the preceding January-March); July 15 (detailing progress from the preceding April-June) and December 15 (detailing progress from the previous September-November).
5.    IDEA must report its progress annually in March in a public hearing before the PCSB Board.

In order to exit probation, the school must meet these terms for three years, then it will be eligible to apply for a 15-year renewal of its charter in the fall of school year 2015-16.

“We want to see IDEA PCS succeed, but under clear performance conditions that will greatly improve the quality of the education for its students,” said Board Chair John H. McKoy.

IDEA PCS, located in Ward 7, was granted a charter by the former DC Board of Education and opened in 1998. The Board of Education reviewed IDEA in its fifth year of operation and found that it had a mixed performance in meeting the goals and academic achievement expectations set forth in its charter. When the Board of Education was dissolved, IDEA came under the chartering authority of PCSB.

IDEA PCS has 362 students in grades 7-12. IDEA school officials decided earlier this month to focus on improving the performance of students in its upper grades and announced they will close the middle school at the end of this school year. IDEA staff and PCSB enrollment specialists are working to find students alternative placements. In August 2013 IDEA will open as a high school with grades 9-12.

To read IDEA’s 15-year renewal report, please click here.

About the PCSB: The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington, DC. PCSB currently oversees 57 public charter schools on more than 100 campuses serving nearly 32,000 students living in every ward of the city. Learn more at www.dcpcsb.org.