State Education Department Issues 2010 Charter School Application Kit

The State Education Department (SED) today announced the release of its 2010 Charter School Application Kit, seeking applicants – including educators, parents, teachers, and community leaders – to open new, high-performing charter schools across New York. The Application Kit details the specific steps and requirements that a charter school applicant must follow to submit an application to the Board of Regents for consideration.

In May 2010, the New York State Legislature increased from 200 to 460 the number of charter schools that may be authorized under the law. In addition, the Legislature amended the law to increase the public accountability and transparency of charter schools and to further regulate how they are formed and operate. To update its charter school application materials so they are consistent with these recent legislative changes, the Department has developed a new New York State Education Department 2010 Charter School Application Kit.

The Application Kit and embedded request for new school proposals were developed by SED’s Office of Innovative Models, Sally Bachofer, Executive Director, in partnership with SchoolWorks of Beverly, Massachusetts; they are available on the Department’s website at this address: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/startcharter.html.