1. Charter Schools, Transportation, and Children with Special Needs: From North Carolina and Beyond

2. Charter Schools: a Reform education movement

3. What is a charter school? Public School –Parental Choice –Highly Accountability –Improves Student Performance –Non-traditional The Perfect School Deregulated Parental Involvement Experiment in Education

4. Current NC Status The Charter Schools Act –June 21, 1996 95 Current Charters –Limit of 100 in NC 12,691 students Mostly elementary Average size 135 students Operated by a PNP Diverse and Different Only Five Slots Available

5. How to Start a Charter School A group of Individuals A Common Vision A Bond of Commitment A Clear Concise MISSION Organization Team Work Focus on the Child Dream

6. Application Process Application Goes to 1 of 3 Preliminary Chartering Entities –Institution of Higher Learning –Local Board of Education (Superintendent) –State Board of Education (OCS) (Some States have a State Charter School Board)

7. Some Characteristics Focus on child Business driven Small size No Tuition or Religious Affiliation Innovative Thematic Strong Curriculum Autonomous Accountable

8. Question??? “What” exactly is deregulated?

9. EXPENDITURES Personnel Facility Transportation Start up

10. INCOME Base Operating Budget Per Pupil Allocations –Local Funds –State Funds Federal Funds –Special Needs –Title I (et al) –Others Grants and Gifts

11. Discrimination: NOPE! A charter school shall not discriminate against any student on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability. Except as otherwise provided by law or the mission of the school as set out in the charter, the school shall not limit admission to students on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry. The charter school may give enrollment priority to siblings of currently enrolled students who were admitted to the charter school in a previous year and to children of the school's principal, teachers, and teacher assistants. In addition, and only for its first year of operation, the charter school may give enrollment priority to children of the initial members of the charter school's board of directors, so long as (i) these children are limited to no more than ten percent (10%) of the school's total enrollment or to 20 students, whichever is less, and (ii) the charter school is not a former public or private school. Within one year after the charter school begins operation, the population of the school shall reasonably reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing within the local school administrative unit in which the school is located or the racial and ethnic composition of the special population that the school seeks to serve residing within the local school administrative unit in which the school is located. The school shall be subject to any court-ordered desegregation plan in effect for the local school administrative unit.

12. Transportation for Charter Schools In North Carolina Original legislation required that Charter Schools provide transportation Refined legislation requires a transportation PLAN so the “transportation is not a barrier” to any student attending the charter school

13. Charter School Options for Transportation Operate their own Buses –Purchase used from School District Operate their own “other” vehicles Contract with the local school district Contract with another company –(NC does not have school districts that contract out their transportation operations) Implement another plan (e.g. parent involvement)

14. Pupil Transportation in North Carolina Heavy state involvement –District receives a block grant to be used for transportation: drivers, mechanics, fuel, contracts State allotment accounts for 80-100% of a district’s transportation budget Average district pays 94% of its eligible transportation expenses with state funds

15. Other State Involvement State DMV trains, certifies and recertifies all school bus drivers (no district expense) State DPI replaces all school buses, based on vehicle mileage (District has to buy the first bus)

16. Statewide Computer Systems State Department of Public Instruction supports two major information systems –State Vehicle Fleet Management System is a centralized mainframe system for bus inspections, preventive maintenance, parts inventories, etc. –Transportation Information Management System (TIMS) is a PC-based system used for routing and scheduling school buses (edulog)

17. Vehicles State specs for school buses apply only to the (non-charter) public schools. Specs are more purchasing and construction specs that can’t be forced on other schools State motor vehicle law is very loose on school bus requirements (flashing red lights, stop sign, SCHOOL BUS lettering) No prohibition against vans, but most public school districts have (with some urging) gotten out of the van business

18. Transportation Option of Choice Parent Transport Carpools Operate their own buses 100 charter schools. A small handful contract with the local district. –Bad Blood? –It’s not my job? –“They took my money!!”

19. What’s Happening Across the Country??

20. WEBSITE www.uscharterschools.org