Authorizing Practices

An Overview of DC PCSB’s Charter Application Process

Established in 1996, the DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) is an independent government agency of the District of Columbia led by a seven-member volunteer board.

DC PCSB provides oversight to 128 public charter schools managed by 66 independently run nonprofit organizations called local education agencies (LEAs). This school year, public charter schools educate 44,028 DC students based on preliminary enrollment data, nearly half of the public school students in the city.

Each year, DC PCSB accepts applications to open new schools from applicant groups with diverse backgrounds and expertise.  Staff will evaluate each application following the 2021 Charter Application Guidelines, which layout the process and standards.  Applications are reviewed on five main criteria:

  • a demonstrated need for the school;
  • sufficient progress in developing the plan;
  • consistency of the mission and philosophy;
  •  Inclusiveness; and
  • founding group ability.

The 2021 Guidelines include changes to two sections: Demonstrated Need and Special Populations.  

 

Meeting the Demonstrated Need
With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, DC PCSB has updated language in the charter application guidelines that specifically states that if two or more substantially similar applicants (e.g., same program model and/or grade brand) largely meet the standard for approval and propose to open in a similar location, DC PCSB staff will conduct an independent assessment of demand that considers whether that location could sustain more than one similar program. Based on this assessment, DC PCSB may recommend that the Board conditionally approve only one of those applications. This recommendation will be made based on the applicant group with fewer weaknesses identified in staff’s recommendation proposal to the DC PCSB Board.

 

Educating Students in Special Populations

To ensure that applicants groups are providing the best possible education for students in special populations, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that is disproportionately affecting black and brown children, DC PCSB staff included language in the 2021 Charter Applications Guidelines Redlined.  The criteria requires school leaders to prove that the resources provided to students meet the needs of all learners, in all instructional settings, including virtually. In terms of the promotion of students to the next grade level, DC PCSB also included updated language in the guidelines for school leaders to prove how their retention plans, specifically around absences and/or repeated tardiness, will not negatively impact students with disabilities and English learners.  

 

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The first step in the charter application review process is to submit a Letter of Intent to submit an application. While not required, this step is encouraged to allow DC PCSB staff to plan appropriately for the application review cycle. Approximately a month later,  the electronic application is due to DC PCSB. Once submitted, DC PCSB informs the applicants about the completeness of their electronic submission. If required sections are missing from the electronic submission, the applicant group will have time to ensure completeness and to submit final electronic and paper versions of the application.

After receiving and reviewing applications, the DC Public Charter School Board staff comes together to conduct capacity interviews. This year, staff and the founding team will convene virtually due to public health guidelines. These interviews are conducted by DC PCSB staff to focus on areas of the application where the review team needs additional clarity, and usually include questions about the founding group’s ability to execute the plan as written, supports for students with disabilities, teacher recruitment, and retention, and demand for the proposed school. To learn more about capacity interviews, click here.
 

Each application is read by a review team of DC PCSB staff. Review teams are comprised of a lead reviewer, secondary reviewer, special student population expert, finance expert,  community engagement expert, governance/board management lead, and a demand analysis lead. For applications where there is an expertise gap, DC PCSB seeks guidance from industry experts to review the application. DC PCSB Board members read all applications and participate on a review team.

Once applications have been submitted, DC PCSB staff review teams begin reading through hundreds of pages of content to determine which applications have fully developed responses to each of the criteria.   As the DC PCSB teams review the applications, they meet regularly to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for each application. They then formulate unique questions based on the areas they would like to probe deeper during the capacity interview, which is part of the application review process.   

Capacity Interviews are interviews conducted by DC PCSB staff. These interviews focus on areas of the application where the review team needs additional clarity. The interviews usually include questions about the founding group’s ability to execute the plan as written, how the team will support students with disabilities, teacher recruitment and retention, and demand for the proposed school. The interview may also include hypothetical situations to gauge how the founding team would respond to challenges facing public charter schools in DC. During the capacity interview, applicants are encouraged to bring their whole founding team to ensure questions are answered thoroughly. The capacity interview lasts approximately 90 minutes and is recorded. The recordings are shared with the public.  

When applications for schools seeking to open here exist in other states, staff and Board members may also conduct site visits. These visits allow the review team to observe the implementation of the existing program.

Finally, the applicants come before the DC Public Charter School Board for a public hearing. The public hearing is the Board's final opportunity to ask any lingering questions about the application. The public hearing will take place on March 15.  

At the April 19 Board meeting, the Board will discuss and vote to either approve the application to open a new public charter school or deny it. A formal decision letter will be sent to each applicant group informing them of the Board’s vote days after the Board meeting. The letters include information about the application’s conditions of approval (if necessary) or reasons why it may have been denied.  

Read more about the application process here.  

 

2021 Charter Application Guidelines: Redlined Version

A core part of DC PCSB’s mission is to provide a rigorous and comprehensive charter application process to groups seeking to open a public charter school in the District. 

Though this year looks different from years past, each year, DC PCSB accepts applications to open new schools from a wide range of applicants from various backgrounds and expertise The 2019 Charter Application Guidelines outline the standard for approval applicants must meet to be approved to open a new public charter school in Washington, DC. The 2021 Charter Applications Guidelines Redlined, were created due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DC PCSB evaluates each application up against the five main criteria in the standard for approval:

  • a demonstrated need for the school;
  • sufficient progress in developing the plan;
  • consistency of the mission and philosophy;
  • Inclusiveness;
  • and founding group ability.

 

For the 2021-22 Charter Application cycle, the charter application guidelines were redlined and updated to reflect the following: 

  • New language around meeting the demonstrated need for the school
  • Ensuring all public charter schools provide all students with the best education experience, with emphasis on students in special populations (e.g. English Language Learners (ELL)  and Students with Disabilities (SWD)


Meeting the Demonstrated Need
With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, DC PCSB has updated language in the charter application guidelines that specifically states that if two or more substantially similar applicants (e.g. same program model and/or grade brand) largely meet the standard for approval and propose to open in a similar location, DC PCSB staff will conduct an independent assessment of demand that considers whether that location could sustain more than one similar program. Based on this assessment, DC PCSB may recommend that the Board conditionally approve only one of those applicant groups. This recommendation will be made based on the applicant group with fewer weaknesses identified in staff’s recommendation proposal to the DC PCSB Board.


Educating Students in Special Populations

To ensure that public charter school applicants are providing the best possible education for students in special populations, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that is disproportionately affecting black and brown children, DC PCSB staff included language in the 2021 Charter Applications Guidelines Redlined that requires school leaders to prove that the resources provided to students meet the needs of all learners, in all instructional settings, including virtually. In terms of the promotion of students to the next grade level, DC PCSB also included updated language in the guidelines for school leaders to prove how their retention plans, specifically around absences and/or repeated tardiness, will not negatively impact students with disabilities and English Learners.  

After receiving and reviewing applications, the DC Public Charter School Board staff comes together to conduct capacity interviews. This year, staff and the founding team will convene virtually due to public health guidelines. These interviews are conducted by DC PCSB staff to focus on areas of the application where the review team needs additional clarity, and usually include questions about the founding group’s ability to execute the plan as written, supports for students with disabilities, teacher recruitment and retention, and demand for the proposed school. To learn more about capacity interviews, click here.
 

To read the full 2021 Charter Applications Guidelines Redlined policy, click here.