Start a Charter School

If you are considering applying to open a new public charter school, we strongly encourage you to inform DC PCSB staff of your plans as soon as possible, by contacting applications@dcpcsb.org. We regularly meet with prospective applicants to discuss DC PCSB’s application process and expectations, and the applicant’s plans and questions.

Application Process

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DC PCSB has revised its process for submitting new charter school applications. To ensure the safety of prospective applicants and DC PCSB staff, applicant groups will no longer be required to submit paper applications at the DC PCSB office on January 29, 2021 at 2pm (please see 2021 Charter Application Guidelines for a full description). 

The 2021 Charter Application Guidelines outline the required steps applicants must complete to open a new public charter school or convert a traditional, parochial or private school to a public charter school. Applicants interested in opening a school should carefully read the 2021 Charter Application Guidelines and the School Reform Act.

Prospective applicants are also strongly encouraged to research DC’s educational landscape. To support that research, DC PCSB publishes its Charter School Need and Growth Analysis and Underlying Data. This document provides information about the availability and quality of seats in traditional public schools and public charter schools in DC, as well as information about need and demand for existing and additional public school options.  Another resource applicant groups may use to inform their application is EdScape, a school planning tool created by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education. Applicants can also reference the Planning Yearbook Playbook, a resource for conditionally approved applicants, to better understand the work they should anticipate during their planning year.

DC PCSB staff has updated the Approved and Forecasted Growth analysis to reflect recent changes to the charter sector landscape. Applicants are welcome, but not required, to respond to this updated document in their application submission.

DC PCSB evaluates each application based on four elements:

1. A written application, based on the Charter Application Guidelines (available above);

2. Site visits to the operator’s existing school(s), when applicable;

3. Capacity interviews, which are question-and-answer-style discussions between DC PCSB staff and the applicant; and

4. Public hearings, which are opportunities for the DC PCSB Board and the public to hear from the applicants.

Based on evidence gathered in each of these steps, DC PCSB reviews applicant groups based on five criteria:

1. Demonstrated need for the school;

2. Sufficient progress in developing the plan;

3. Consistency of the mission and philosophy;

4. Inclusiveness; and

5. Founding group ability.

Each of these is defined in more detail in the Charter Application Guidelines.

Spring 2020 Charter Application Timeline

More information about the Title V, Part B Charter Schools Program (CSP) Grant for Eligible Conditionally-Approved Charter Applicants can be found here. More information about the changes to the Application Guidelines can be found here.