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Advisory Commission on Charter Schools

Advisories, meeting notices, meeting agendas, and member information.

SBE Policy | ACCS Meeting Schedule | ACCS Meeting Summaries

ACCS Meeting Notices & Agendas | Commission Members & Profiles

State Board Policy:

POLICY: #01-04 (PDF; 72KB; 3pp.)
DATE: April 2002
SUBJECT: Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS)
REFERENCES: Education Code sections 33031(Outside Source) and 47634.2(b) (Outside Source) . HISTORICAL NOTES: This policy was originally approved in October 2001. Minor technical amendments were made in April 2002

Establishment. In accordance with the requirements of Education Code Section 47634.2(b) (Outside Source), and for purposes of providing for its own government in keeping with Education Code Section 33031 (Outside Source), the State Board of Education (State Board) hereby establishes the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS).

Membership. The ACCS shall be composed of nine members. Eight of the members shall be appointed by the State Board to two-year terms on a calendar-year basis. The ninth member of the ACCS, who shall be deemed to be appointed by the State Board, represents the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and shall be designated by the State Superintendent. For purposes of the initial appointments to the ACCS, four members shall be designated by the State Board to serve three-year terms in order to establish a proper staggering of appointments.

The remainder of the year 2001 shall be disregarded in relation to the terms of office of the initial appointees. Individuals may be re-appointed to subsequent terms on the ACCS without limit.

Within the membership of the ACCS, the State Board shall ensure that all of the following groups are represented: school district superintendents, charter schools, teachers, parents (guardians), members of the governing boards of school districts, and county superintendents of schools. A single individual may represent more than one group.

Background Statement. Charter schools are a promising means for generating higher student achievement. The State Board has been assigned by statute a strategic role to ensure that this promise of higher student achievement is realized within a context of sound educational programs and practices, proper financial management, and certain specific requirements of law.

The State Board’s role includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Selective granting of charter petitions that have been denied or not renewed by local education agencies, but that the State Board determines to have met statutory requirements.
  • Taking appropriate action, including, but not limited to, revocation with respect to State Board-granted and locally-granted charters under specific circumstances set forth in statute.
  • Establishing appropriate funding levels for nonclassroom-based charter schools.
  • Jointly with the State Superintendent, approving districtwide charter petitions when those petitions are determined to be satisfactory.
  • Developing and adopting regulations to implement various provisions of the Charter Schools Act of 1992 (Part 26.8 of the Education Code, commencing with Section 47600).
  • Approving or denying requests to waive otherwise applicable provisions of law.
  • Assigning numbers to charter school petitions to ensure that the statutory cap on the number of charter schools is not exceeded.

Duties of the ACCS. The ACCS shall advise the State Board on all aspects of the State Board’s duties under the Charter Schools Act of 1992. In so doing, the ACCS shall assist the State Board in carrying out the State Board’s proper role of ensuring that charter schools realize higher student achievement within a context of sound educational programs and practices, proper financial management, and other specific requirements of law. Priority areas for consideration by the ACCS will include the first three matters listed in the Background Statement above: selective granting of charters; taking appropriate action, including, but not limited to, revocation of charters; and establishing appropriate funding levels for non-classroom based charter schools.

Applicability of Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. In accordance with law, meetings of the ACCS are subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.

Chair and Rules of Governance. From among the members of the ACCS, the State Board shall designate a chair. The chair shall typically serve a one-year term in that office, unless otherwise specified by the State Board. The chair may from time to time surrender to another member the duty of presiding over a meeting of the ACCS as he or she deems necessary and appropriate.

The ACCS may establish bylaws for its own government as it deems necessary. Unless otherwise addressed in bylaws it may establish, the ACCS shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised). No fewer than five members shall be deemed a quorum of the ACCS for purposes of conducting meetings. Each formal recommendation of the ACCS shall require an affirmative vote of at least five members.

Staff to the ACCS. The California Department of Education (CDE) shall provide staff support for the ACCS, including, agenda preparation, posting of meeting notices, distribution of meeting materials to ACCS members, maintenance of records regarding ACCS recommendations to the State Board, making of travel arrangements and filing of travel claims, and such other staff support as the members of the ACCS may need.

Travel, Lodging, and Other Expenses. Members of the ACCS shall be entitled to receive CDE purchased airline tickets and reimbursements for travel, lodging, and other expenses only to the extent permitted by applicable provisions of statute and the State Administrative Manual.

Frequency of Meetings. The ACCS may hold meetings as necessary based upon the members’ assessment of workload in consultation with CDE staff.

Meeting Schedule:

Meeting Notices & Agendas

Meeting Summaries:

For older copies of ACCS summary notes please contact the Charter Schools Office at charters@cde.ca.gov

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ACCS Public Member Roster and Biographies

Updated March 2009

Beth Hunkapiller | Vicki Barber | Carol Barkley | Brian Bauer
Paul Cartas | Gary Davis | Mark Kushner | Corri Ravare

Beth Hunkapiller, Chair

  • Represents - School Governing Board Members

    Mrs. Hunkapiller is a fifteen-year member of the Board of Education of the San Carlos Elementary School District in San Carlos, California. She is a founder of the San Carlos Charter Learning Center, the first school to receive a charter in California. Mrs. Hunkapiller is also chair of the board of Aspire Public Schools whose mission is to raise the academic achievement of California's diverse students, develop outstanding educators, catalyze change in public schools, and share successful practices with forward-thinking educators. Mrs. Hunkapiller represents school governing board members on the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools; her term on the commission expires December 31, 2011. Mrs. Hunkapiller is a former middle school reading and English teacher and administrator in the Mountain View School District in El Monte, California.

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Vicki L. Barber

  • Represents - County Superintendents of schools
  • Term expires December 31, 2011

    Dr. Vicki Barber, of El Dorado, has been reappointed to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. She has been with the El Dorado County Office of Education for 20 years, and was elected as El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools in 1994. Dr. Barber is known throughout California as an expert in special education. She testified before a United States Congress Subcommittee in March 1996 on the critical issue of reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She has served as president of California County Superintendents Educational Services Association CCSESA. In addition, Dr. Barber has taken a statewide leadership role on the Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee. Dr. Barber is extensively involved in many organizations and community service agencies, including Kiwanis and the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Barber is a commission member of First 5 El Dorado and also serves on the Board of Directors for El Dorado County JOB ONE, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado Community Foundation, El Dorado Forum, and Western Slope Boys & Girls Club. She has served on the ACCS since 2004. This position has a three-year term and there is no salary.

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Carol Barkley

  • Represents - State Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Serves at the pleasure of the State Superintendent.
    Ms. Barkley is the Director of the Charter School Division, California Department of Education.

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Brian Bauer

  • Represents - Charter Schools
  • Term expires December 31, 2009

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Paul Cartas

  • Represents - School district superintendents
  • Term expires December 31, 2009

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Gary Davis

  • Represents - Parent or Guardian of Student(s)
  • Term expires December 31, 2011

Gary Davis, of Elk Grove, has been appointed to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. From 2000 to 2004, Davis served as legislative director for Assembly Member Darrell Steinberg. From 2004 to 2006, he served as the program director for the California State University Chancellor. Prior to that Davis was the executive director for Sacramento State Alumni Association. Davis currently serves as the political director for EdVoice. He received his bachelor of science degree from California State University at Sacramento. Davis is the mayor of Elk Grove and a former Natomas Unified School District Board of Trustees President. This position has a three-year term and there is no salary.

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Mark Kushner

  • Represents - Charter Schools
  • Term expires December 31, 2011

    Mark Kushner, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. He is the founder and director of Leadership Public Schools, a new nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a network of quality charter high schools focusing on academic excellence and leadership development for traditionally underserved students.

    He previously founded the Leadership High School in San Francisco, the first startup charter high school in California. Kushner received a bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan University and completed graduate work in literature, law and educational administration at Oxford University, University of San Francisco (J.D.), and Harvard University (Ed.M.). He is a former attorney and high school English teacher. He has served on the ACCS since 2004. This position has a three-year term and there is no salary.

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Corri Ravare

  • Represents - Parent or Guardian of Student(s)
  • Term expires December 31, 2011

Corri Ravare, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. From 1995 to 2000, she served as a consultant for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of School Reform. From 2000 to 2004, she staffed the Los Angeles Board of Education. Ravare currently serves as the vice president of the Inner City Education Foundation in Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California Berkeley. This position has a three-year term and there is no salary.

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Questions: Charter School Staff | charters@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-6029 
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