South Carolina Public Charter School District Pre-Application Workshop Part III Governance, Special Education, Parent Involvement and Discipline

Serving Students with Disabilities Robert Compton, Ph. D. Director of Federal Programs

Serving Students with Special Needs A clear indication that the charter school understands the requirements of IDEA and Section 504. References being made to “governing bodies” polices: IDEA (PL )  Federal Law so schools cannot deviate from this SC Regulations: and  Very, very little to deviate from District’s Policies and Procedures  cannot deviate from these There’s a balance between stating only that “we’ll follow IDEA and the State’s and District’s policies” with adding more to help us judge if the school really understands the requirements. Things to avoid: copying/pasting the regulations... We know the regulations and don’t need to re-read them.

Serving Students with Special Needs Description of the plan to provide services. Is there an understanding that the school will provide a variety of service and placement options? Things you cannot say: “we only provide mainstreaming services.” “we do not do pull out services.” “we’re an inclusive school.” BTW – “inclusion” is not a noun... It’s a philosophy Every child who enrolls belongs to the school. We cannot “screen out” or “discourage” students with high needs from enrolling.

Serving Students with Special Needs Description of the plan regarding staffing: What’s the staff plan? Contract all: Special education teachers Related service folks Contract with related services and hire a special education teacher What’s the projected enrollment, what’s 10% of the projected enrollment and can X amount of special education teachers theoretically manage a caseload size of X? Do you have a budget showing that you will provide special education services ? What about low incidence services like OT and PT? Make sure you understand that per the District-School contract, each school appoints a special education coordinator.

Serving Students with Special Needs Description to provide equal access to nonacademic and extracurricular services. Does it appear that the school understands that students with disabilities are protected under 504 and/or IDEA for extracurricular, athletic, and non-academic programs? Does the school understand that they must adhere to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act?

Disciplining Students with Special Needs The school understands that while they can have a student conduct policy that includes consequences for when students do not adhere to the policy, schools recognize that “blanket” policies do not work for students under IDEA or students under 504. Students with these protections cannot be suspended for more then 10 days without an IEP team conducting a manifestation determination meeting. Contrary to popular belief, students with IEPs can be expelled, however, the school must follow all of IDEA’s procedures for this and have a plan to provide “special education services” to a child with an IEP who has been expelled. The district’s policies and procedures spell out this process for schools.

Governance (F)(7)a description of the governance and operation of the charter school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governance and operation of the charter school

Application Questions A description of the governance and operation of the proposed charter school An explanation of the proposed transition from a planning committee to the initial governing board, including the identification of individuals making the transition and timeline A plan for ongoing board training and capacity building An explanation of the proposed board meeting frequency and focus, and the role of any standing subcommittees A plan for how a lead administrator will be hired and how the transition of leadership will happen A description of the relationship between the governing board and the school administrator which includes the amount of authority the governing board will convey to the school administrator Statements of liability and indemnification.

The Board Oversees the administration and operations of the school Does not manage the day-to- day operations of the school- that is the principal’s job! Evaluates the principal as well as how the school is performing ( academically, financially, and organizationally) Board Members are required by law to receive board training/orientation the first year but as a best practice, every year Charter school law expressly forbids board members from being paid employees of the school Be very careful of conflict of interest principles – nepotism! South Carolina Ethics Act Freedom of Information Act

The Board South Carolina Charter Schools Act

Parent and Community Involvement This section should be the blueprint for how the charter committee came into being and what its plans are for the formation of the school, including how it will involve the local community.

Diversity In this section the charter should describe the plan for reaching a diverse student population. Describe the community in terms of diversity List the events you will attend to gather involvement List the community organizations, non profits, places of worship, sporting events, etc. that the committee will address

Partnerships Describe the partnerships the committee has in place if any exist. Provide evidence through a letter as an appendix, verify the partnership. Partnerships with money attached are good but they aren’t the only type of partnership the Board is looking for when judging the likelihood of success. Services can be just as important as money.

Discipline Policy Governing Student Conduct, Student Rights and Responsibilities

The Discipline Policy Must Include disciplinary actions to be taken by the administration for breaches of the student conduct policy This statement assumes you have a conduct policy Caution charter committees from taking local conduct policies and just changing the name!!!!! These often involve the district and in this case the district will not be involved in your conduct policy an appeal process for students recommended for expulsion that includes a right to appeal a decision to the charter school board Discipline appeals do not come to the SCPCSD’s Board of Trustees.

Discipline Policy (cont.) an assurance that the charter school will comply with S.C. Code Ann. § , which provides for the expulsion of any student who brings a firearm to school an assurance that the charter school will comply with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232) an explanation of the policies with regard to student conduct, rights, and responsibilities that will be given to parents and students at the beginning of the school year. These are usually part of the student handbook but if the handbook is not available at the time of submission, please do not just rename the local districts policy and submit as an appendix.