CASI March 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
• 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

• Form 700
  Form 700 must be completed annually by April 1. Additional information is available at California Fair Political Practices Commission - Form 700 .
• Charter School Performance Category Data File posted on March 14, 2025
  Staff from the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Analysis, Measurement, and Accountability Division joined CASI Charter Chat for a presentation. An overview of the performance categories for charter school renewals is available in the slide deck from the March 26, 2025 CASI Charter School Performance Categories Presentation .
  
  Pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 47607(c), as an additional criterion for determining whether to grant a charter renewal, the chartering authority shall consider a charter school’s placement under the performance categories, which is based on the charter school's performance under the California School Dashboard (Dashboard). Under this criterion, a charter school is placed into one of the three performance level categories: high, middle, or low. The determination for charter renewals for each category are as follows:
  • High: A charter school in this category is eligible for a five-, six-, or seven-year renewal term.
  • Middle: A charter school in this category may be renewed for a five-year term.
  • Low: A charter school in this category may be renewed for a two-year term only if it meets the conditions under EC Section 47607.2(a)(4).

  For information regarding the determination of charter school performance categories, refer to the Determining Charter School Performance Category Flyer at Performance Categories under Resources.
  
  Additional information for charter schools identified as low-performing is available at Charter School Renewals under Renewal Standards and Criteria.
  

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Fiscal Hot Topics

• Auditor Selection Form
  Per EC Section 41020, the governing board of each charter school shall provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the school. In the event the governing board of a local educational agency (LEA) has not provided for an audit of the books and accounts of the LEA by April 1, pursuant to EC Section 41020(b)(3), the County Superintendent of Schools shall provide for the audit and the cost of the audit shall be chargeable to the LEA.
  • SCCOE Selection of Auditors Sample Letter
  • SCCOE Selection of Auditors Sample Form
• Standardized Accounting Code Structure (SACS) Data Viewer
  Staff from the CDE’s Financial Accountability and Information Services, School Fiscal Services Division joined CASI Charter Chat for a presentation. An overview of SACS Data Viewer is available in the slide deck from the March 26, 2025 CASI SACS Data Viewer Presentation .
  
  A new resource provides financial reports of local educational agencies, including budget and interim reports, unaudited actual financial data, and supplemental forms, available in multiple formats beginning with fiscal year 2022–23.
  

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California Department of Education and State Board of Education Updates

• The State Board of Education (SBE) meeting was held on March 5, 2025. The agenda included renewal of an SBE-authorized charter school, Altus Schools South Bay and a Notice of Violation issued to SBE-authorized charter school, Academia Avance. The next SBE meeting will be held on May 7–8, 2025.
• The next Advisory Commission on Charter Schools meeting will be held on April 8, 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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