CASI April 2025 Charter Chat Resource Page

Charter Chat Topics

1. Legislative Updates by Santa Clara County Office of Education
2. Program Hot Topics
3. Fiscal Hot Topics
4. California Department of Education and State Board of Education Updates
5. CASI Annual Survey
6. Upcoming Events

Disclaimer

The information contained on this page is provided as a reference only. Charter schools and chartering authorities are encouraged to review the laws and regulations and consult with their own legal counsel regarding the application to their specific situations.

Legislative Updates by Santa Clara County Office of Education

The new two-year legislative session began January 1, 2025.

• AB 84 (Muratsuchi) —School accountability: audits: charter schools: data systems
• AB 640 (Muratsuchi) —Local educational agencies: governance training
• AB 730 (Arambula) —Expanded Learning Opportunities Program: supplementary academic instruction and high-impact tutoring
• AB 1062 (Hoover) —Local control funding formula: concentration grants: charter schools: waiver
• AB 1493 (Avila Farias) —Charter schools: performance standards for renewal
• SB 48 (Gonzalez) —Immigration enforcement: school sites: prohibition on access, sharing information, and law enforcement collaboration
• SB 341 (Perez) —Instructions School Gardens Program: reestablishment: Department of Food and Agriculture
• SB 414 (Ashby) —“Spot bill”: Charter oversight; fraud prevention
• SB 631 (Richardson) —Charter School Revolving Loan Fund
• SB 719 (Cabaldon) —“Spot bill”: Multi-Agency Charter School Audits Task Force recommendations
• To follow current legislation at the California Legislative Information website:
  • Under "Quick Bill Search," select either "Bill Number" or "Keyword(s)"
  • Enter the bill number or keyword, respectively
  • Once the desired bill is located, click "Add to My Favorites." This will prompt the user to create a profile and receive email updates on the status of the desired bill.

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Program Hot Topics

• 2025–26 Charter School Certification of Information
  It’s that time of year—the California Department of Education (CDE) Charter Schools Division (CSD) is excited to announce the upcoming release of the 2025–26 Charter School Certification of Information (COI)! In the coming weeks, charter schools will certify their information that is on file with the CDE for the 2025–26 fiscal year through the COI, a web-based data collection that will be made available to all charter school administrators. The information reported and certified by charter schools will be used to inform state policy, create reports for the U.S. Department of Education, support charter school authorization and oversight, and promote transparency of the state’s public school system.
  
  Charter schools will have a two-week window in May to report, review, and certify their information via the COI. Additional details regarding this certification will be provided by the CSD shortly. The CSD recommends subscribing to the Charter-Schools Listserv to stay abreast of updates and details regarding the COI. Information about how to subscribe can be found on CDE Charter-Schools Listserv. Questions may be directed to the CSD by email at charters@cde.ca.gov.
  
• Charter Renewal
  Under California Education Code (EC) Section 47604.32(a)(5)(A), a chartering authority (e.g., school district or county office) is required to provide timely notification (i.e., within 10 days) after approving the renewal of a charter school to the CDE. The renewal of a charter school must be documented by an official action (e.g., board minutes, board resolution, signed letter from superintendent, etc.) of the chartering authority. The chartering authority (i.e., not the charter school) is to submit the notice of the renewal approval to the CDE via email at charters@cde.ca.gov prior to the expiration of the charter term. In order for the CDE to process the renewed charter term, the following documents are required to be provided by the chartering authority:
  
  1. Charter School Renewal Cover Sheet (PDF) signed by the Superintendent, or designee of the chartering authority.
  2. Written notice (e.g., board minutes of the public hearing approving the renewal of the charter) by the governing board of the chartering authority. The minutes need to include a statement that the charter school has been renewed for an X-year term effective from July 1, XXXX, through June 30, XXXX.
  3. Updated and complete petition (including new legislation enacted after the charter school was originally granted or last renewed) as approved by the chartering authority.
  4. If the status of the charter school is low performing, a copy of the written plan adopted by the governing body of the charter school as stated under EC Section 47607.2(a)(4)(A), and the charter board minutes demonstrating the date the written plan was adopted by the charter school governing board.
     
  
  Additional information regarding the charter school renewal process is provided at CDE Charter School Renewals. Please contact charters@cde.ca.gov with questions.
• LCAP Preparation
  Charter schools are required to update their LCAPs annually, have their LCAPs approved by the charter board, and submit their LCAPs to the county office by June 30 each year.
• Williams Review
  Effective January 1, 2022, all schools eligible for the Williams list includes:
  • All schools which have been designated Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI)
  • All schools which have been designated Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI)
  • All schools with 15 percent or more of the school’s teachers that do not possess a valid and clear or preliminary teaching credential

Many schools this year were designated ATSI for chronic absenteeism. Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools are excluded from the Williams list. While Williams, CSI and ATSI do not necessarily impact authorizers, it is good for authorizers to know the status of their schools. Schools on ATSI or CSI need to have their school plans completed by start of school year (July 1) for 2025–26.

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Fiscal Hot Topics

• Charter School Third Term Reporting
  Although not required under California Education Code, a Third Interim Report can be requested by authorizers when there are significant fiscal concerns
  

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California Department of Education and State Board of Education Updates

• The Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS) meeting was held on April 8, 2025.The agenda included review of nonclassroom-based funding determinations and reviewing evidence from the Notice of Violation in order to issue a Notice of Intent to Revoke for Academia Avance Charter. The next ACCS meeting will be held on June 3, 2025.
• The State Board of Education meeting will be held on May 7, 2025.

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CASI Annual Survey

Please complete the CASI Annual Survey if you have not already done so.

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