Expanding Public Charter Schools Transparency

In April 2018, the DC Public Charter School Board launched a major initiative -- #TransparenSEE -- to provide detailed information about DC PCSB and public charter schools.  We placed detailed information on the DC PCSB website about school climate, academic quality, finances, salaries, PARCC, school contracts, at-risk spending, 990s, audits, and budgets. 

Using feedback from parents, community members, elected officials, and school leaders, we are currently expanding our transparency initiatives:

• We have created a Transparency Hub -- being launched today -- where families, students, and the public can turn to when seeking data or other information.

• As well as a new initiative “School Transparency Policy”, that was outlined at the January 28 public hearing.

The Transparency Hub is where parents, community members, elected officials, and school leaders can find the following info:

General Information about each School  

Note: Click on the school's name to see this information.  

• The school's annual reports to DC PCSB, which contains
  • detailed information about each school and its activities
  • its report on attainment of its goals
  • key data, including average, minimum and maximum teacher salaries
• Student handbook, including 
  • School academic calendar
  • Individual school's disciplinary policies
  • High school course offerings and graduation requirements (if applicable)
• Map showing the home location for every school
• PCSB review reports for each school, showing detailed performance information
• Results of PCSB's Qualitative Site Reviews for each school, showing results from in-depth classroom observations
• School's Quality Report

Financial Information (by PCS)

• Budgets
• Audited financial statement
• Federal Tax Returns (990s)
• Breakdown of how schools spend their money, including the percent allocated to:
  • Occupancy
  • Salaries
  • Administration
• At-Risk funding expenditure plans
• DC PCSB's Financial Analysis Report, which contains an analysis of each public charter school's fiscal health, highlighting areas of financial weakness
  • Details of all not-for-profit and for-profit management companies
  • Details of school expenditures on facilities

Charter Information (This is essentially the contract between DC PCSB and individual public charter schools which lays out how that school will operate.)

• Charter Applications (2012 to Present)
• Calendar for when a school is subject to a review (by year)- High Stakes Review
• Charter Agreements and Amendments
  • Mission
  • Grades/ages
  • Charter goals and student academic achievement expectations
  • Graduation requirements
  • Board of Trustee bylaws
  • Enrollment ceiling (by year, for expanding schools)
  • Management Agreement, applicable

Other Information

• Title XI Coordinator Point of Contacts
• Healthy School Profiles
• Equity Reports (2012-2017) showing academic performance, discipline, and mid-year withdrawal rates, in many cases broken out by subgroup. (Note that much of the information in equity reports has been replaced by OSSE's DC School Report Card, launched in 2018)
• DC School Report Card includes
  • Academic attainment and proficiency, by subgroups
  • Discipline rates, by subgroup
  • Before & After School Care
  • Extracurricular Activities
  • Student Mobility
  • Title I Status 
  • Teacher and Health Staff Information
  • Per Pupil Expenditures (coming this year)

Information about DC PCSB

• ​Financial audits and budgets
• DC PCSB Salaries
• DC PCSB Policies
• Information about DC PCSB staff, board members and members of the Parent and Alumni Leadership Council (PALC)
• Board materials, minutes and transcripts, and links to board meeting videos
• Oversight testimony and responses to DC Council question since 2012
• Budget testimony and responses to DC Council question since 2012
• All other testimony by DC PCSB
• Annual discipline reports to the DC Council

School Transparency Policy

In addition to the webpage, the board will propose changes to its “School Transparency Policy”, which was the subject of a public hearing on January 28.  There will be a second public hearing - for additional feedback - before a final vote by the DC PCSB.

The proposed policy requires schools to list documents and other information on their own websites to help the public easily access information.  If approved by the DC PCSB board, the following information will be available on each school's website:

• Title XI Coordinator contact information 

• At-Risk funding plans 

• Student enrollment plans 

• High school course offers and graduation requirements 

• Charter school board of trustee meeting calendars 

• List Board of Trustee of meeting dates

*Note a revised proposed policy will re-open for public comment on Friday, February 8 and discussed at the February 25 monthly board meeting.  This revised proposed policy will include additional proposed information to be posted, to include school board meeting minutes and other information recommended during the public comment process. Read the revised policy, clicking here. 

UPDATE March 18: The Board approved the School Transparency Policy at its March monthly board meeting. Click here to read the policy.  

In April 2018, the DC Public Charter School Board launched a major initiative -- #TransparenSEE -- to provide detailed information about DC PCSB and public charter schools.