Florida Association of Charter School AuthorizersArticle Submitted By: Carla McMullen, Board Member
The Florida Differentiated Accountability Model is written to provide direction to Districts and Schools in corrective action, but it does not provide technical assistance to District Authorizers and how the model relates to charter schools. Some of the responsibilities assigned to the District would normally fall within the responsibilities of the charter school’s governing board. One example is where the Department of Education guidance states that the district is to be involved in the review of the teachers, and the principal must have extensive experience in turning around the school. This creates a number of challenges for the district, as the hiring and replacement of employees and the administrator are a function of the charter school’s governing board. Although the discussions held at this FACSA meeting demonstrated that districts around the state are each determining the best way to handle the Differentiated Accountability Model with their charter schools in corrective action, there did appear to be consensus that each district would be working with the charter school’s governing board to ensure that the requirements of the model were carried out per the timeline provided in the model. As there is no indication that this Accountability Model will change in the next three years, FACSA members have agreed to send a request to the Department of Education to provide clarification on how this Accountability Model applies to charter schools. The document appears to conflict with the autonomy that charter schools are given and as authorizers we want to be sure it is handled appropriately. It is the hope of all FACSA members that the Department of Education will be able to provide clear direction to both District Authorizers and Charter School Governing Boards that clearly delineates the responsibilities of both parties within the Differentiated Accountability Model as they work collaboratively to fulfill the requirements of charter schools in corrective action. |
The Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers (FACSA) meet on September 11, 2008 to discuss key issues related to charter school authorizing. During this meeting, the important topic of the newly approved Florida Differentiated Accountability Model was discussed as it relates to district authorizers and those charter schools they sponsor who are in correct action and fall under this model.
