California State Board of Education Appeals

The information presented on this web page pertains specifically to the submission of charter school appeals to the California State Board of Education (SBE) that have been denied by the governing board of a school district and/or a county board of education.

Section Menu

• Establishment of a Charter School
• Renewal of an Existing Charter School
• Renewal of a California State Board of Education-Authorized Charter School
• Submission of an Appeal
• Deadlines to be Heard by the California State Board of Education
• Delegation of Oversight

Establishment of a Charter School

Pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 47605(k)(1)(A)(i), if the governing board of a school district denies a petition, the petitioner may elect to submit the petition for the establishment of a charter school to the county board of education. Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2), if the county board of education denies a petition, the petitioner may appeal that denial to the SBE.

Appeal Documentation

The documentation required to be submitted by the petitioner and the governing board of the school district and/or county board of education, to the SBE for the appeal of the establishment of a new charter school is detailed below:

Petitioner

Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2)(A), the petitioner shall submit the petition to the SBE within 30 days of denial by the county board of education. The petitioner shall include the following:

1. Written submission detailing, with specific citations to the documentary record, how the governing board of the school district or the county board of education, or both, abused their discretion
2. Findings from the governing board of the school district
3. Documentary record from the governing board of the school district
   • Including a copy of the charter petition that was reviewed by the governing board of the school district
4. Findings from the county board of education
5. Documentary record from the county board of education
   • Including a copy of the charter petition that was reviewed by the county board of education
6. Charter petition, as denied by the governing board of the school district and the county board of education

The California Department of Education (CDE) created the following documents to assist petitioners in meeting the aforementioned documentation requirements. The use of these documents is not required but is highly encouraged:

• SBE Appeal Review Petitioner Checklist (PDF)
• SBE Appeal Review Table 1 (PDF)
• SBE Appeal Review Table 2 (PDF)

Governing Board of the School District and/or County Board of Education

Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2)(C), within 30 days of receipt of the appeal submitted to the SBE, the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education may submit a written opposition detailing, with specific citations to the documentary record, how the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition. The governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education may submit supporting documentation or evidence from the documentary record that was considered by the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education with their written opposition.

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Renewal of an Existing Charter School

Renewals of charters are governed by the standards and criteria described in EC sections 47607 and 47607.2, and shall include, but not be limited to, a reasonably comprehensive description of any new requirement of charter schools enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed.

Pursuant to EC sections 47607.5 and 47605(k)(1)(A)(i), if the governing board of a school district does not grant a charter school’s petition for renewal, the charter school may submit a petition for renewal to the county board of education within 30 calendar days after the denial by the governing board of the school district.*

Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2), if the county board of education does not grant the charter school's petition for renewal, the charter school may appeal the decision to the SBE.

* If there is no independent county board of education, the petition for renewal may be filed directly with the SBE. Refer to Renewal of a California State Board of Education-Authorized Charter School for information regarding required renewal documentation to be submitted to the SBE.

Appeal Documentation

The documentation required to be submitted by the petitioner and the governing board of the school district and/or county board of education, to the SBE for the appeal of the renewal of an existing charter school is detailed below:

Petitioner

Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2)(A), the petitioner shall submit the petition to the SBE within 30 days of denial by the county board of education. The petitioner shall include the following:

1. Written submission detailing, with specific citations to the documentary record, how the governing board of the school district or the county board of education, or both, abused their discretion
2. Findings from the governing board of the school district
3. Documentary record from the governing board of the school district, which includes, but is not limited to, the following:
   • The charter school’s state performance levels on the state rubrics for the preceding two years1
   • Verified data demonstrating measurable increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes2
   • A copy of the charter petition that was reviewed by the governing board of the school district
4. Findings from the county board of education
5. Documentary record from the county board of education, which includes, but is not limited to, the following:
   • The charter school’s state performance levels on the state rubrics for the preceding two years1
   • Verified data demonstrating measurable increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes2
   • A copy of the charter petition that was reviewed by the county board of education

Charter petition for renewal, as denied by the governing board of the school district and the county board of education3

The CDE created the following documents to assist petitioners in meeting the aforementioned documentation requirements. The use of these documents is not required but is highly encouraged:

• SBE Appeal Review Petitioner Checklist (PDF)
• SBE Appeal Review Table 1 (PDF)
• SBE Appeal Review Table 2 (PDF)

¹ The charter school’s performance levels on the state rubrics for the two years preceding the renewal petition, reflecting which renewal path the charter school qualifies for under EC sections 47607(c)(2), 47607(c)(7), 47607.2(a), or 47607.2(b).

² A charter school being considered for renewal under EC sections 47607.2(a) and 47607.2(b) must also provide verified data demonstrating either measurable increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes.

³ A copy of the renewal charter petition, as denied, including a reasonably comprehensive description of how the charter school has met all new charter school requirements enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed. The signature requirement set forth in EC Section 47605(a) and the findings of EC sections 47605(c)(7) and (8) are not applicable to a petition for renewal.

Governing Board of the School District and/or County Board of Education

Pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2)(C), within 30 days of receipt of the appeal submitted to the SBE, the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education may submit a written opposition detailing, with specific citations to the documentary record, how the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition. The governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education may submit supporting documentation or evidence from the documentary record that was considered by the governing board of the school district and/or the county board of education with their written opposition.

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Renewal of a California State Board of Education-Authorized Charter School

Pursuant to EC Section 47605.9(b), a charter school operating under a charter approved by the SBE pursuant to EC Section 47605, as it read on January 1, 2019, may continue to operate under the authority of the SBE only until the date on which the charter is up for renewal, at which point the charter school shall submit a petition for renewal to the governing board of the school district within the boundaries of which the charter school is located. If the governing board of the school district denies the renewal petition, the charter school may submit the petition for renewal directly to the SBE. The SBE shall review the petition in accordance with EC Section 47605(k)(1)(B).

Appeal Documentation

The documentation required to be submitted by the petitioner to the SBE for the appeal of the renewal of an SBE-authorized charter school is detailed below:

• Charter petition, as denied by the governing board of the school district
• Charter petition appendices and attachments

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Submission of an Appeal

The appeal petition must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Supporting materials and/or appendices may be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF).

All documentation should be submitted electronically to the CDE Charter Schools Division (CSD) via email at charterappeals@cde.ca.gov. If documents are too large to be sent via email, contact the CSD and alternate upload arrangements will be made.

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Deadlines to be Heard by the California State Board of Education

Appeals submitted within the 30-day timeline, as required by EC Section 47605(k), will be agendized according to the table below. This provides sufficient time for CSD staff to thoroughly review and analyze all appeal documents as well as allows the petition to be heard first at the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools meeting occurring the month before each SBE meeting.

Note: All appeal documents are due to the CSD by 4 p.m. on the dates indicated in the above table. Appeal documents received after 4 p.m. on any due date will be reviewed and analyzed for the subsequent SBE meeting (i.e., if appeal documents are received after 4 p.m. on March 28, 2022, the petition will not be heard at the July SBE meeting and will instead be heard at the September SBE meeting).

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Delegation of Oversight

If the denial of a charter petition for the establishment of a new charter school or the renewal of an existing charter school is reversed by the SBE, pursuant to EC Section 47605(k)(2)(E), the SBE shall designate, in consultation with the petitioner, either the governing board of the school district or the county board of education in which the charter school is located as the chartering authority, pursuant to the aforementioned EC Section.

EC Section 47605.9(b) states that a current SBE-authorized charter school may continue to operate under the authority of the SBE only until the date on which the charter is up for renewal. If the SBE grants renewal pursuant to EC Section 47607, the SBE shall designate, in consultation with the petitioner, either the governing board of the school district or the county board of education in which the charter school is located as the chartering authority (EC Section 47605.9[b]). After the chartering authority has been designated by the SBE, the charter school will need to update its chartering authority under the California School Directory by completing the Change in Authorizing District for a Charter School Application, which is available at Application for a County-District-School Code .

These EC sections cannot be waived by the SBE.

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