August 2025 ACCS - Item 1 Public Comment 2

August 8, 2025

Support a recommendation that SBE HEAR the appeal to renew Oakland Charter High

Dear Members of the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools,

SDC urges ACCS to recommend that SBE hear the appeal of Oakland Charter High (OCH). For both substantive and procedural reasons, CSDC is extremely concerned about the district and county nonrenewals of OCH.

OUSD staff are most familiar with the school’s history, including the “fiscal and governance factors” that appear to be at issue. OUSD staff recommended renewal. (ACOE staff did not make any recommendation).

The OUSD board disregarded its staff and yet failed to provide an evidentiary basis for nonrenewal. The OUSD board’s resolution merely recites statutory grounds for denial without making factual findings to support those grounds. A similar pattern at the county level indicates that this renewal was not properly considered.

Additionally, we are extremely concerned that ACBOE includes a denial finding based on “declining” performance on the California School Dashboard. In fact, OCH’s Dashboard performance is high. OCH’s 2024 Status on three of the four “academic indicators” is far above average, relative both (1) to similar schools in California and (2) to schools that students could otherwise attend if the school were to close. This finding fails to align to the renewal standard: fluctuation and even declines in school’s scores do not indicate that students are not making sufficient progress to standards. The ACBOE’s findings appear untethered to the standards that govern charter renewal.

We urge members to carefully consider the legal standard to ensure that future decisions are grounded, first and foremost, in “the best interest of pupils.”

Thank you,
Susanne Coie, Development and Accountability Specialist, and Eric Premack, Executive Director

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